Sps Spotlight: Strawberry Shortcake Acropora

[larryhaynes]

Just picked up a nice frag from reefer93105 !! Can't wait for it to start growing in my tank!! Still in the bag!!!

 

[CastAway]

Becoming one of my favorites.

 

[Tank2379]

Mine was always high up

 

[recess62]

I realize this is an old thread. Anyone have any PAR values that makes this coral thrive?

 

[Acroporaaddict]

Here is mine. I recently sold it to a LFS.
I grew it in the very center of my tank under 8x39w t5 roughly 250 PAR. I have 2 gyre 130s for flow set on 100% alternating gyre.
7.5dkh 440ca 1400mg

 

[recess62]

Absolutely gorgeous

 

[Graffiti Spot]

Some pics of my old shortcake from years ago, i got it as a wild piece back when you didn't see them often. Different than the new ones that are collected wild imo. I wish I would have taken a picture of the new growth on it, the big pic is where the original fragment started and looks good but not as good as the new growth did. It was hard to take a good pic of because of a brace.

 

[Graffiti Spot]

I realize this is an old thread. Anyone have any PAR values that makes this coral thrive?

Mine did better under halides with par above 300 but it depends on what shortcake you get too. Some of the Aquacultured ones can do very well under less par.

 

[cprice]

Anyone ever seen a strain like this? I love the growth pattern and deep red polyps. Even the axial polyps are bright red.

 

[coralseas]

How long do you guys run your lights? 8-12 hours?

 

[Gene C]

Feeding time! Ca 400 . Alk 9.5 Flow: Moderate, fixed. Radion XR30W Gen 4 Coral Lab AB+ setup at 55%.

 

[PatW]

Mine are high up. Flow is med high. Light is high. Alk at 8, Ca 420-450, Mg 1300. Nitrates 1.5 and phosphates .01 to .04.

I have 2 frags each from a different source with a different “look”. The first started growing after a week or two. The second took about 5 weeks and then started to grow. Both are growing pretty fast.

 

[Gene C]

SSC in resting state.

 

[Gene C]

SSC in feeding state.

 

[Brittleyak]

SSC in feeding state.

New to acros and have never target fed any sps. Do most sps exhibit this feeding response? And do you turn flow off if target fed or just broadcast
Also worth mentioning just picked up a SSC frag myself still light acclimating

 

[Hemmdog]

New to acros and have never target fed any sps. Do most sps exhibit this feeding response? And do you turn flow off if target fed or just broadcast
Also worth mentioning just picked up a SSC frag myself still light acclimating

Highly debated topics. Some acros will do this yes. Debatable if it’s a feeding response or a stress response. Flow off is debatable because some experts say corals cannot properly metabolize and digest food without flow, so don’t change the normal flow patterns. Target fed or broadcast is also debatable because some experts also think that acropora in captivity don’t actually eat food at all, they just grow purely off light.

I occasionally turn the flow off and target feed my acros (2-4x a month) so the moral here is do whatever you want

 

[Gene C]

New to acros and have never target fed any sps. Do most sps exhibit this feeding response? And do you turn flow off if target fed or just broadcast
Also worth mentioning just picked up a SSC frag myself still light acclimating

I leave one of the three circulation pumps running so there is water movement, but the return pump to the sump and the skimmer are turned off allowing the slow feeders an opportunity to feed. I do target feed all corals during this time. Circulation pumps come back online in 15 minutes, return pump in 30 minutes and skimmer in two hours. I see this type of response from other across during this time as well.

 

[29bonsaireef]

New to acros and have never target fed any sps. Do most sps exhibit this feeding response? And do you turn flow off if target fed or just broadcast
Also worth mentioning just picked up a SSC frag myself still light acclimating

IME, SSC is one of those Acropora species that frequently releases Mesenterial Filaments. Whenever I've done a WC, fragged or even cleaned the glass, SSC slimes up bad. I would never consider this a positive reaction, nor would I try to provoke this behavior. Whether or not the Mesenterial Filaments catch particulate, and actually ingest it for food is debatable. I have always considered this a stress response. Even if it's when feeding the coral is likely irritated by dead seafood product floating around, and/or coming into contact with its tissue. It reacts by sending out the Filaments to fight any foreign obstacle or particulate coming into contact with it. People will argue it's a response to feeding, and beneficial. I don't think corals would waste energy expelling these filaments to capture food this way. They come out to protect the coral.

Focus on feeding the fish, and feed your corals through a good light source.