Echinata Acropora Care Guide
Echinata Acropora (Acropora echinata) is a SPS coral. Care covers 250-400 PAR, high flow, reef parameters and feeding; advanced level.
Compiled by Aquairi from published sources · Published · Updated
Overview
Echinata Acropora (Acropora echinata) is a SPS coral in the family Acroporidae. Bottlebrush-style Acropora with thin radial branches off main stem. Vibrant blue or purple morphs popular.
Taxonomy
- Family: Acroporidae
- Genus: Acropora
- Scientific name: Acropora echinata
- Common synonyms: Bottlebrush Acro
Habitat
In the wild, Acropora echinata is reported from Indo-Pacific, where it occupies shallow reef flats and upper slopes (typically 1-15 m). The species adopts a branching growth form on hard substrate within zooxanthellate reef communities.
Tank requirements
- Salinity (specific gravity): 1.025-1.026
- Temperature: 24-26 °C (75-79 °F)
- pH: 8.1-8.4
- Carbonate hardness (dKH): 7.5-9
- Calcium: 420-450 ppm
- Magnesium: 1300-1400 ppm
- Phosphate (max): 0.03 ppm
- Nitrate (max): 5 ppm
- Minimum system age: 1 year
Placement and lighting
- PAR (placement zone): 250-400 PAR
- Water flow: high
Place this SPS coral on the upper rockwork where light is bright and water movement is strong, ideally turbulent rather than laminar. Acclimate gradually to high PAR over 2-3 weeks to avoid bleaching. SPS demand a mature system: stable alkalinity, calcium, and magnesium with phosphate and nitrate kept ultra-low.
Feeding
Acropora echinata hosts symbiotic zooxanthellae and derives most of its energy through photosynthesis. Additional feeding is generally not required when lighting is adequate.
Compatibility
This coral is passive toward neighbours. Reef-safe with most fish and invertebrates.
Care notes
Difficulty level: advanced. Reported skeletal growth in well-tuned reef tanks is approximately 0.4-0.9 cm/month. Propagation by fragmentation is straightforward for branching colonies — separate branches or polyps with a bone cutter, glue to plug, allow 1-2 weeks for healing. Maintain stable alkalinity (avoid swings above ±0.5 dKH per day) to preserve tissue health.
Acropora echinata Propagation Guide
Overview
Acropora echinata is a small-polyp stony coral of the family Acroporidae. Wikipedia describes its colonies as made of flat, bottlebrush-like branches with thin, neatly-arranged branchlets; tips are blue or purple while the body is white or cream, and some specimens are entirely blue. The incipient axial and axial corallites are indistinguishable and the radial corallites are tube-shaped and short. It occurs in sheltered shallow reefs at 8 to 25 metres in clear water.
Reproductive Mode
Acropora reproduce both asexually and sexually. In the aquarium A. echinata is multiplied by fragmentation, which preserves the parent's symbiotic zooxanthellae and coloration. Wikipedia notes that captive propagation of Acropora is widespread in the reef-keeping community.
Fragging / Asexual Propagation
Cut or snap a branch tip of about 2-5 cm with bone-cutters and bond it to a frag plug with cyanoacrylate gel or epoxy; the thin bottlebrush branchlets are fragile, so handle gently. The axial corallite at the branch tip drives regrowth, so an intact tip encrusts and elongates fastest. Wikipedia reports finger-sized Acropora fragments can grow into medicine-ball-sized colonies in one to two years under good reef conditions.
Conditions for Propagation
Wikipedia states Acropora requires bright light, stable temperatures, regular calcium and alkalinity dosing, and clean turbulent water. Place echinata frags under high light and strong flow with stable alkalinity, calcium and magnesium and low nutrients to encourage encrustation onto the plug and new branchlet development.
Sexual Reproduction
In the wild Acropora reproduce by annual synchronised broadcast mass-spawning, releasing buoyant packets of eggs and sperm into the water column for external fertilisation. This event is generally not reproduced in home aquaria, where propagation relies on fragmentation.