Acanthastrea, known more commonly as ‘acans’, are a colourful and diverse variety of large polyp stony coral. Acan corals are found in many regions of the world and are often collected in Australia and throughout Southeast Asia, but can also be found as far north as Japan. Characterized by their fluffy polyps and diverse, multi-colour patterns, acans make a great choice for marine hobbyists of any level to add great diversity to the reef aquarium.
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Common species include: acan lordhowensis, known more commonly as ‘acan lord’, acan echinata, acan micromussa; the smaller polyp variety and acan bowerbanki, the larger polyp variety. Some scientific classifications for acans and species have changed in the past few years, but these are the typical classifications known in the aquarium hobby. Acans of the same species can be grown in close proximity, even touching each other, but it is not safe to mix species. It is noted that acans tend to thrive in systems which receive a good variety of frozen or live food, whether it is via direct/target or broadcast feeding. Their polyps are quite efficient at grabbing food particles from the water. Acans have similar care requirements to most LPS, however, they tend to do best with lower levels of light, ranging from 100-175 par. They can be tolerant of more, if adapted to the environment carefully. Most often, acans are placed on the sandbed or in the lower regions of the tank.
