Aquaristic Online
A52 - Acanthastrea Bowerbanki
Quick Stats:
- Lighting: Medium to High
- Flow: Low to Medium
- Placement: Middle to Top
- Feeding: Photosynthetic but do accept meaty foods
- Aggressiveness: Moderate
Characteristics: Commonly known under the name Acanthastrea bowerbanki they have scientifically been reclassified as Homophyllia bowerbanki. They have large fleshy polyps that irregularly shaped and there appears to be little separation between their polyps.
Colour: They come in a multitude of colours but most often maroon and green in colouration. They sometimes come in red, orange or yellow and some specimens are also tricoloured.
Lighting: These corals appreciate medium to high lighting from about 100 – 150 PAR. They are mostly consistent in their colouration under different lighting conditions but they don’t fluoresce heavily.
Flow: They appreciate low to medium flow. Enough flow to keep detritus and debris from settling between the ridges. Too much flow can cause their own skeleton to puncture their flesh and keep them from fully expanding.
Placement: They can be placed around the middle to top of the tank on some rockwork so that they can get some direct light. They can be grouped together but will become aggressive if not enough space is left between them and other species as they will send out sweeper tentacles.
Feeding: They are photosynthetic but they readily accept meaty foods such as mysid shrimp or larger prey. Feeding tentacles will extend from their mouths to grab the food if they sense food in the water column.
