What are some hardy acropora strains?

Perpetual Novice · Nov 25, 2019

I have a 30 gallon Biocube with a china-box light setup. after having success with plating and then encrusting montipora I have recently been adding some acropora frags to my tank. I don't plan on changing my maintenance and water testing habits to accommodate these new corals although I have been improving. So far it has yielded mixed results. a unidentified pink millipora has been growing slowly, a strawberry shortcake has been doing great, a green slimer colony has been receding at some tips and growing on others, and a yellow tip acro was dropped on some acans and sand and quickly died after. So far I have been ok with trial and error to just find strains that will tolerate my fluctuating water chemistry and relatively high nitrates. I recently bought a walt disney acro frag at local auction for 30$ but am now feeling badly because its a crap shoot whether it will survive in my tank while a more experienced or dedicated enthusiast could certainly have cultivated it into a beautiful colony if i hadn't won.

So I wanted to ask what are some good and exciting strains that are generally more tolerant of shifting chemistry? I figure i ought to at least have a good chance of success with the frags i acquire in the future if i am going to be denying someone else the opportunity to grow them out instead.

SeaDweller · Nov 25, 2019

Green slimer, red planet, most cheap stags. Although I would encourage you to DO regular testing, especially for alk if you're planning on taking up acros as stability is king, and I test alk manually by hand daily. No compromises there for me, and most of us. If you don't then you won't know things are wrong until its too late, so if you dabble in the world of SPS, be prepared to test regularly. JMO.

Naturalreef · Nov 25, 2019

My most hardiest sps are Walt Disney, Homewrecker, Orange Crush, PC rainbow, Miyagi tort. Stable Alk, Stable Nutrients and strong evenly dispersed light and you will have a beautiful zen garden!