Intern Acropora project! (Help and advice is much appreciated!)

taricha_94 · Feb 26, 2019

Hey reefers! I recently started an internship at an invertebrate zoo in the aquatics department. While I get to care for a variety of marine invertebrates, I am focusing on corals for the intern project that I am required to do. I’m working on improving my husbandry techniques for LPS corals but I’m mostly going to be diving into the new and exciting world of SPS (more specifically, acros). I am well aware that acroporids are not exactly considered to be beginner SPS corals but I have a lot of help and supervision from aquarists much more advanced than me!

The main goal of the project is to basically make sure they are all happy and healthy while measuring growth. I’ll be measuring growth via branch length as well as the buoyant weight technique (which is a really cool technique if you haven’t heard about it). From the facility’s perspective, a really important aspect of the project is education and conservation. Because of this, I have recently opened a new exhibit, showcasing the acropora and their importance in coral reefs. I live in a landlocked state so it is very important to me to educate people about corals that some people may have never even seen before.

I chose SPS as my study subject because I’ve already got a lot of experience with LPS and I really want to expand my skill set. I chose acros specifically (even though they are more difficult) because they are the reason I got into corals in the first place.

SO! All of this being said, I’m definitely looking for help and advice from you guys as I proceed with this project. I also want to share the progress I’m making with the coral growth! The exhibit is a nano aquarium so I am slightly worried about keeping the parameters in check throughout the internship but I will be diligently monitoring the chems. I picked out some acros from a local wholesaler a few days ago and I am completely obsessed with them!

One thing I’d like from you guys, if possible, is help with IDing them down to the species. I know a lot of hobbyists tend to not pay too close attention to Acropora species but I personally like to nail down the exact animal I am working with. I have one frag and five small colonies in the tank. I know for sure one of them is A. millepora and I have some guesses for the others but I’m not entirely sure! I have one picture right now but I can get closer up pictures so maybe some of you can help ID them. I’ll try to keep this thread updated as much as possible! Again, thank you guys so much for reading and for any advice you might have!

The first image is right after I acclimated them to the exhibit and the second image was taken two days later. (I am not at work today but I did hear from my supervisor that she updated the flow and lighting this morning)

lolgranny · Feb 26, 2019

This seems fun work for a internship, where do I sign up? Haha!

What size tank is it? Have any filtration?

I could see increasing flow as sps like higher flow. Looks like you only have a mp10 in there.

As for lighting we don’t know what you have so it’s hard to say if you need to raise it or not. I will say the corals look bleached out which could be from too much lighting or lack of nutrients.

Are you planning on adding any fish to the tank?

redfishbluefish · Feb 26, 2019

Interesting project....I'm envious.

You might want to check out papers from the coral farmers....the organizations that are farming corals for the purpose of re-establishing the reefs. The one I'm familiar with is Coral Restoration Foundation in Florida. I've attended two talks from Ken Nedimyer, and the one thing I found fascinating is that they found coral growth was much faster if they suspended the corals in the open water. If your interest is to maximize growth, you might wish to look into that. Here's a picture of one of these "trees" of coral frags.

Coral Restoration Foundation Coral Tree.png

Now this is in open water, and don't know if you'd find similar results in a tank. Best of luck, and keep us informed.

taricha_94 · Feb 26, 2019

lolgranny said:
This seems fun work for a internship, where do I sign up? Haha!

What size tank is it? Have any filtration?

I could see increasing flow as sps like higher flow. Looks like you only have a mp10 in there.

As for lighting we don’t know what you have so it’s hard to say if you need to raise it or not. I will say the corals look bleached out which could be from too much lighting or lack of nutrients.

Are you planning on adding any fish to the tank?

Haha I know right, I'm in heaven.

It's about 20 gal which I think still qualifies as a nano. And yes, it has a canister filter (I can get the specs on it for later). I was pushing for a sump but there's just not enough room to work with unfortunately. But yeah I heard from my supervisor that she added a better powerhead and put in another LED strip (which were things were destined to be upgraded from the beginning haha).

Hmm thank you! I hadn't noticed that they looked bleached though the milli was pretty much the only with with all of its polyps fully extended which is why we switched up the flow and lighting (the previous light was mostly soft blues that was used when the exhibit housed palythoas). They haven't been on exhibit for even a week so I hope it's just because they are adjusting (as well as the lack of flow before the new powerhead). As far as nutrients, I'm trying to find a balance between feeding them enough without overloading the system. I did load them up on phyto before I left for my "weekend" on Sunday.

I'm not going to be adding any fish as the system is really small to begin with.. I do have one Astropyga radiata in there as well as some crabs and snails. Thanks for the advice!!

redfishbluefish said:
Interesting project....I'm envious.

You might want to check out papers from the coral farmers....the organizations that are farming corals for the purpose of re-establishing the reefs. The one I'm familiar with is Coral Restoration Foundation in Florida. I've attended two talks from Ken Nedimyer, and the one thing I found fascinating is that they found coral growth was much faster if they suspended the corals in the open water. If your interest is to maximize growth, you might wish to look into that. Here's a picture of one of these "trees" of coral frags.

Now this is in open water, and don't know if you'd find similar results in a tank. Best of luck, and keep us informed.