Acropora hyacinthus Propagation Guide
Propagating Acropora hyacinthus, the tabling table coral, by fragmentation: cutting plate edges or branchlets from the lattice, mounting frags, and the stable chemistry and high light and flow that fragments need.
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.