Table Acropora Care Guide
Table Acropora (Acropora hyacinthus) 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
Table Acropora (Acropora hyacinthus) is a SPS coral in the family Acroporidae. Iconic flat-topped table Acropora forming wide horizontal plates. Dramatic showcase SPS at maturity.
Taxonomy
- Family: Acroporidae
- Genus: Acropora
- Scientific name: Acropora hyacinthus
- Common synonyms: Hyacinthus, Table Acro
Habitat
In the wild, Acropora hyacinthus is reported from Indo-Pacific, where it occupies shallow reef flats and upper slopes (typically 1-15 m). The species adopts a plating 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 hyacinthus 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 0.5-1 cm/month. Propagation by fragmentation is straightforward for plating 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 hyacinthus Propagation Guide
Overview
Acropora hyacinthus is a tabling stony coral in the family Acroporidae that forms plate- or table-shaped wide colonies made of many thin branches in a lattice structure. Each branch has a large dominant axial corallite with much smaller cup-shaped radial corallites. As with all Acropora, symbiotic Symbiodinium algae in the tissue power the colony through photosynthesis while it lays down a calcium carbonate skeleton.
Reproductive Mode
Acropora reproduce sexually by releasing gametes and asexually when broken pieces reattach and form new colonies. Propagation of table corals uses the asexual route: a cut branchlet or plate edge keeps the parent's genetics and regrows once mounted.
Fragging / Asexual Propagation
- Choose an actively growing edge or branchlet from the table's lattice.
- Cut a branchlet or a wedge from the plate margin with bone cutters or a saw.
- Glue the frag flat to a plug or rock with cyanoacrylate or epoxy.
- Keep the frag in moderate light and flow until tissue seals the cut, then move it up.
- Dip and quarantine new frags before adding them to a display.
The species has an average growth rate ranging from 3 to 10 centimetres of diameter increase per year, so table-coral fragments expand outward into new plates over one to two years in a healthy reef tank.
Conditions for Propagation
Table corals demand very stable conditions. Acropora bleach readily under stress through the loss of their zooxanthellae, so temperature, salinity, alkalinity, calcium and magnesium must stay steady. High light and strong flow support the broad horizontal plate growth this form is known for.
Sexual Reproduction
Wild Acropora take part in annual mass-spawning, releasing gametes into the water for external fertilisation and larval dispersal. This is rarely achieved in aquaria, so hobby propagation of table corals relies on fragmentation.