Valida acropora (Acropora valida) care guide

Group
Corals
Other names
Valida acro
Family
Acroporidae
Origin
Widespread across the Indo-Pacific, including the Red Sea, on shallow reef flats and slopes
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 valida is a small-polyp stony (SPS) coral that forms compact, bushy colonies of short, stout branches. It is usually brown, cream or green in the wild, and aquacultured pieces with blue, purple or pink tips are popular in the hobby. 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. 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.

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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