Rainbow Acanthastrea Propagation Guide
The Rainbow Acan is a color morph of Acanthastrea echinata; like other acans it is fragged on a band saw between corallites, each polyp group healing into a new frag.
Overview
The Rainbow Acan is a vividly multicoloured aquarium morph of Acanthastrea echinata, a large-polyp stony coral in the family Lobophylliidae. Like all Acanthastrea it forms massive, usually flat colonies of circular or angular corallites with polyps extended mainly at night. Its colonial structure means propagation follows the standard acan-fragging approach.
Reproductive Mode
As a colonial coral, the Rainbow Acan grows by adding corallites, each holding a complete polyp. A desirable colour morph is propagated asexually so that the resulting frags are genetic clones that keep the same colouration.
Fragging / Asexual Propagation
LPS corals such as acans are cut with a band saw around the polyps, with a typical frag being about two to four polyps. The base is cut flat and the piece is glued onto a frag plug to heal and encrust, taking care not to cut into living polyp tissue. Each frag preserves the parent colony's rainbow colouration.
Conditions for Propagation
Stable parameters, moderate flow and moderate light help freshly cut frags recover, and bright colour morphs are usually grown under controlled lighting to maintain pigmentation. Supplemental feeding speeds encrusting onto the plug and clean water limits infection at the cut.
Common Challenges
Beyond the usual risks of cutting into tissue and post-cut infection, intense colour morphs can lose pigment if lighting or nutrients shift sharply. Keeping conditions stable during recovery protects both the tissue and the colour.