Staghorn acropora (Acropora muricata) care guide

Group
Corals
Other names
Acropora formosa, Staghorn coral, Formosa acropora
Family
Acroporidae
Origin
Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea and East Africa to the central Pacific; common on shallow reef slopes and lagoons
Water
saltwater
Temperature
22–26°C
pH
8–8.4
Hardness
dKH 8–12
Care level
expert
Reef safe
yes
Lighting
High; roughly PAR 250–400 (general hobby guidance). Acclimatise slowly to avoid bleaching
Flow
Strong, turbulent and intermittent

Care

A branching staghorn Acropora that forms open thickets of long, tapering branches, usually cream, brown, green, blue or purple, with paler growing tips. It is one of the fastest-growing stony corals and is mostly traded as aquacultured frags. Naming: Acropora formosa is an older name now treated as a synonym of A. muricata, and it is still widely used in the hobby. Placement: middle to upper rockwork, with plenty of room to grow up and out; it can quickly shade slower corals. Light and flow: high light and strong, changing turbulent flow. LiveAquaria notes that brighter light gives better colour, but new pieces must be eased into strong light. Water: an expert coral that needs a mature, very stable reef. Keep calcium around 400–450 ppm, alkalinity at dKH 8–12 and magnesium around 1250–1350 ppm, and keep them steady; regular dosing of calcium, alkalinity and trace elements (or a calcium reactor in a busy reef) is needed as the coral grows. Keep nitrate and phosphate low but not zero, and avoid swings in alkalinity. Growth: fast; LiveAquaria describes Acropora as growing much faster than most reef corals once settled. Selling: this is a CITES Appendix II coral. Frags grown in the UK can be sold freely; wild-collected or imported pieces must have been legally imported with CITES paperwork. Sources: LiveAquaria (liveaquaria.com/products/assorted-acropora-coral). Checked October 2026.

Diet

Photosynthetic: zooxanthellae in the tissue supply most of its energy. It can also take fine foods such as phytoplankton, zooplankton, rotifers or powdered SPS foods, broadcast a few times a week, but stable water and light matter far more than feeding.

Breeding

One of the easiest stony corals to frag: snip a branch tip 2–5 cm long with bone cutters or a coral saw, and glue it to a plug or rock with cyanoacrylate gel or epoxy. Clean cuts heal within days and new frags encrust and branch out quickly in good conditions. Aquacultured frags are widely traded and adapt better than wild colonies.

Compatibility and tank mates

Peaceful, with short polyps and no long sweeper tentacles, but it is easily stung by LPS sweepers and harmed by leather-coral chemicals, so keep it well away (15 cm or more) from aggressive neighbours and run carbon if leathers are present. Fast growth can shade corals below it. Watch for Acropora-eating flatworms, red bugs and Montipora/Acropora nudibranchs; dip new pieces. Most reef fish are fine, but some angelfish and butterflyfish nip SPS polyps.

Last updated 8 October 2026. Community-edited care guide on Aquatic-Auctions.

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