Acropora micropthalma

Purchased June 4th, 1999. This is one of my first SPS corals I have attempted to keep. You can see the cement plug the coral is still attached to. Once I find an ideal spot for this coral I’ll snap it off the plug an use epoxy to hold the coral in place. I have not noticed any significant polyp extension in this coral yet. As pictured this coral is about 1.5 inches high.

This is the same frag that was snapped off the plug and mounted horizontally. It took about 2.5 months to recover from being mounted. However once it recovered it has shown excellent growth. This picture clearly shows six new branches forming. However in person this coral is actually starting at least 15 branches. When this coral is mounted vertical it is known to grow and look like a twig. However, when mounted horizontally to grows more like a bush. The large green bubble is Valonia sp. algae.

This is the frag 8 months after being placed into the tank. This doesn’t look like much growth and in reality its not. However, this coral did survive a total bleaching in which it took several months to regain its color. The white tips are actually growth tips and not part of the original bleaching event.

Wow, this coral is really starting to kick in some growth. This is the coral just two months later.

Unfortunately, this coral bleached on me after a Bryopsis outbreak and died shortly after. This picture was taken 4 months after the previous picture. Skeleton was removed from the tank August 10, 2000.