Blue Tip Staghorn. (Acropora striata)

Acropora striata, just added to display tank. Picture taken February 2006, Nikon D70 Digital SLR, Sigma 105mm Macro lens This coral was sold as Acropora striata, which like most species names to acropora is questionable but seems close enough. I mounted this frag horizontal to promote a thicker branch structure. If I would have mounted this frag vertically it would have grown vertical into an odd looking twig. This frag is about 6 inches in length.

Acropora striata, just added to display tank. Picture taken February 2006, Nikon D70 Digital SLR, Sigma 105mm Macro lens Close up of the corallite formations. I have this coral lower in the tank than most of my SPS coral to allow this coral some room to branch out. Hopefully it is able to maintain its color lower in the display.

Acropora striata, three months later. Picture taken May 2006, Nikon D70 Digital SLR, Sigma 105mm Macro lens This shows the coral three months later. It is showing significant new growth and the color has improved a bit as well. If you look carefully you can see a significant number of “red bugs” crawling on colony.

Acropora striata, seven months later. Picture taken December 2006, Nikon D70 Digital SLR, Sigma 105mm Macro lens Seven months later the coral is showing excellent growth rates and very nice coloration.

Acropora striata, two months later - macro image. Picture taken February 2007, Nikon D70 Digital SLR, Sigma 105mm Macro lens Macro image of the polyps. The blue coloration is just glowing in this image. On the plus side no more red bugs could be located. This coral was infested before the treatment.