Staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) care guide

Group
Corals
Other names
Caribbean staghorn coral
Family
Acroporidae
Origin
Caribbean, Bahamas, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico, on shallow fore-reefs and back-reefs
Water
saltwater
Temperature
22–26°C
pH
8–8.4
Hardness
dKH 8–12
Care level
expert
Reef safe
yes
Lighting
High; acclimatise slowly to strong light to avoid bleaching. Hobby guidance is roughly PAR 250–400
Flow
Strong, turbulent and intermittent

Care

Acropora cervicornis is the Caribbean staghorn coral: a fast-growing branching SPS coral with long, cylindrical, antler-like branches, usually golden brown with pale tips. It was once one of the main reef-builders of the western Atlantic but has declined severely through disease and bleaching and is now listed as critically endangered. Placement: middle to top of the rockwork in strong light, with room to grow on all sides. LiveAquaria lists it for any placement height so long as light is strong enough, but colour is best high up. Light and flow: it grows under moderate light but colours best under high-intensity LED, T5 or metal halide lighting. Strong, changing water movement from a wavemaker or several pumps keeps the tissue clean. Water and supplements: keep alkalinity, calcium and pH high and, above all, stable, with magnesium, strontium and trace elements (including iodine) dosed as needed. Keep nitrate and phosphate low but not at zero. Acropora are the least forgiving corals of sudden changes, so this is a coral for a mature, stable reef tank. Growth: fast under good conditions, much quicker than most other reef corals. Aquacultured Acropora frags are widely available and adapt to tanks far better than wild pieces. Availability: because of its status it is almost never in the aquarium trade. Wild collection is not legal across most of its range, and the pieces grown in reef-restoration nurseries are for replanting, not for sale. Treat any piece offered with care and ask for its origin and paperwork. In a tank it needs plenty of room: branches can grow quickly and form a wide thicket. 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. LiveAquaria lists Acropora as a genus ("Acropora sp."), not this species, so the figures here are its general guidance for the genus. Sources: LiveAquaria (liveaquaria.com/products/assorted-acropora-coral). Checked October 2026.

Diet

Photosynthetic: zooxanthellae in the tissue supply most of its food. It also takes fine plankton (phytoplankton and zooplankton), so occasional broadcast feeding with powdered or liquid SPS foods can help growth and colour. No target feeding is needed.

Breeding

One of the easiest stony corals to propagate once it is growing well. Snap or cut a branch tip 2–5 cm long with bone cutters, glue it to a plug or rock with gel superglue or reef epoxy, and keep it in good light and strong flow. Frags usually encrust the plug within a few weeks and branch soon after. Fragging also helps keep the parent colony in shape. In the wild, branches broken off by storms reattach and grow, which is how restoration nurseries multiply it.

Compatibility and tank mates

Peaceful in the sense of having very short tentacles, but it is easily stung by LPS corals with sweeper tentacles and harmed by chemicals from leather corals, so give it its own space well away from Euphyllia, Galaxea and large leathers. Some angelfish and butterflyfish nip SPS polyps. Watch for Acropora-eating flatworms and red bugs on new pieces; dip and quarantine before adding.

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

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