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Stunning Acanthastrea Corals For Sale Online

Acanthastrea corals, also commonly called “Acans,” Acan Lords,” “Acanthastrea brain coral,” and a few other names are LPS corals native to the Indo-Pacific and add a lot of color, texture and beauty to any reef tank. Color morphs of Acan coral frags are sometimes staggeringly pretty, with concentric rings of different colors surrounding each polyp that are highly prized by coralheads all over the world. Our online Acanthatsrea frags are propagated in-house and carefully cut to protect the health and integrity of individual polyps and the starter colony as a whole. Acans tend to be good options for reefkeepers of all levels of accomplishment, provided their displays are fully cycled, with stable water quality parameters. The most common species of Acans available to our clients are Acanthastrea lordhowensis (Acan lords) and Acanthastrea bowerbanki, and Acanthastrea echinata.

Acathastrea Coral Care Guide

Experience Level

Acan LPS frags can be a good option for beginners, provided their systems are at least three months old, with stable params that reflect the values below. They are more tolerant of differing intensities of flow and lighting than many LPS corals, which make them good starter corals for reefkeepers developing their skills and knowledge base.

Optimal Water Quality Parameters

Temperature: 72-78F, 22-25C
pH: 8.1-8.3
dKH: 7-11 (125-200ppm CaCO3 equivalent)
Calcium: 375-450ppm
Magnesium: 1275-1350ppm
Salinity: 33-35ppt
Ammonia (NH3): less than 0.1ppm
Nitrite (NO2): less than 0.2ppm
Nitrate (NO3): less than 0.2ppm
Phosphates (PO4): less than 0.03ppm

Lighting Preferences:

The final location for your Acan colony will depend a great deal on the type of lighting you have on your display and its intensity. Generally speaking, Acans prefer the moderate lighting usually found on the substrate or a ledge in the middle to lower part of the water column.

Water Flow Preferences:

Your Acan frag will not tolerate strong, sustained currents for long, as the polyps will shrink to protect themselves from damage and will never deploy their feeding tentacles. Choose a somewhat sheltered area with low, indirect flows at least initially and then experiment with slightly stronger flows by moving the frag or dialing up the output from your powerheads.

Placement Considerations:

After you acclimate your new Acan frag to your quarantine system (strongly recommended) or display, you can start experimenting with the ideal placement for your lighting and flow. Begin with a location with lower lighting to ensure that you don’t shock the photosynthetic zooxanthellae and closely monitor the color and posture of each polyp. As always, the hardest part of this is waiting at least two weeks and preferably longer to see how your Acan adjusts before trying a new spot.

Also be mindful that Acans can be very aggressive and will extend their mesentery filaments (feeding tentacles) at night. Any nearby corals can and probably will get stung and digested, so take care not to place Acanthastrea too close to any sessile invertebrates like other corals, clams and other animals that cannot move out of reach.

Feeding Considerations:

You’ll get better growth from your Acan colony with regular feedings of small protein, such as brine shrimp, mysis, Artemia nauplii, and other zooplankton. Finely minced pieces of shrimp, clam and fish can also suffice. To prime the feeding response, gently squirt some juice from your thawing food across the colony with a pipette, taking care not to hit any polyp directly. In a few minutes, the polyps should open up and deploy their feeding tentacles. When the polyps are ready, very carefully place the food near the tentacles and let them transport the food into the polyp. Although feeding is great fun and necessary, be careful not to overdo it. Too much food at one time can start to decompose within the polyps and trigger a bacterial infection. Too much food can also trash your water quality. So make sure that you are testing and tracking your WQ params on a regular basis to better understand how your coral feeds are affecting your chemistry and proactively manage it with robust water and filter changes and adequate nutrient export.

CoralFrags.com, Your Trusted Source of Online Acan Coral Frags

The Acanthastrea frags that we sell to our clients are carefully screened on an ongoing basis to help ensure that they’re not harboring unwanted pests that can make reefing fun a reefing nightmare. They are carefully examined at least three times: when they arrive and are added to our quarantine systems, when they pass quarantine and are moved to our propagation tanks, and before they are shipped to each client. We sure don’t want these pests in our systems and we most definitely don’t want to introduce them to our clients’ displays. So if you’re looking for healthy, vibrant Acanthastrea frags online from an ethical seller at a great price, place and order with us and discover for yourself why we’ve become one of the premier online coral frag sellers. We look forward to hearing from you!

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