Acropora selago Propagation Guide

Propagating Acropora selago, a compact thin-branching SPS coral, by fragmentation: cutting branch tips, gluing frags to plugs, and the stable chemistry, high light and high flow that fragments need to heal.

Overview

Acropora selago is a compact, thin-branching stony coral in the family Acroporidae. It grows as a colony of small polyps that share tissue over a calcium carbonate skeleton, with symbiotic Symbiodinium algae generating energy through photosynthesis. Its tightly packed thin branches offer many fragging points typical of branching SPS corals.

Reproductive Mode

Acropora reproduce sexually through gamete release and asexually when broken branches reattach and form new colonies. Aquarium propagation uses the asexual route, as each fragment is a genetic copy of the parent that resumes growth once mounted.

Fragging / Asexual Propagation

Select a healthy, coloured branch tip from a settled colony.
Cut or snap the thin branch carefully, since slender branches break easily.
Glue the frag to a plug or rock with cyanoacrylate or epoxy.
Keep the frag at moderate light and flow until the cut heals, then move it higher.
Dip and quarantine new frags before they enter the display.

In a healthy reef tank, small finger-sized fragments can develop into much larger colonies over one to two years, so a single compact parent provides a reliable supply of frags.

Conditions for Propagation

Stable water chemistry is essential for healing. Acropora bleach readily when stressed through the loss of their zooxanthellae, so temperature, salinity, alkalinity, calcium and magnesium must be held steady. High light and high flow feed the dense skeletal growth this thin-branched form depends on.

Sexual Reproduction

Wild Acropora take part in annual mass-spawning, broadcasting gametes into the water for external fertilisation. This is rarely reproduced in aquaria, so hobby propagation relies on fragmentation.