As far as cool “mythical” acros go, for usAcroporasuharsonoihas always been one of the be-all unique and beautiful small polyp stony corals for the home aquarium. As an SPS lover, getting our hands on this species for the first time in 2005-2006 was a momentous occasion rivaled only by seeing the species in person, in the wild, and taking lots of notes on where it lives and what lives with it.
On theFluval Sea Flores Expeditionaround Komodo and Rinca islands we were so close to the population center ofAcroporasuharsonoithat we expected to see一些殖民地,但我们观察到的是,伟大的细胞分支acro的名副其实。当我们有以著名的Suharsonoi Acro为特色从以前的水族馆的角度来看,这是该物种在野外首次观察。我们可以说的第一个值得注意的事情A. Suharsonoi是它生活在一个完全不明显的栖息地中,如果有的话,就环境参数而言,这绝对是道路的中间。你找不到A. Suharsonoiliving in crystal clear or shallow waters where the light is direct and bright. But you also won’t find it living too much beyond 50 feet deep where water flow is reduced and the available light has dropped to a fraction of what it is at the surface.
Rather the most likely place you’ll findAcroporasuharsonoiis an average habitat with modest water current at a depth between 30 and 50 feet – in shallower waters it will often grow on slopes and small vertical reef structures where the coral can receive bright light but for only part of the day since the reef structure will shade it from direct light. What is equally noteworthy about where this coral lives is the corals it lives with. In Flores it was possible to observe this species living in close proximity with related corals such asA. lokani, A. elegans, A. derawanensis, A. jacquelinae, A. caroliniana和A. speciosa.
Some unrelated corals which enjoyed the close company of A. suharsonoi include low energy corals such asLeptoseris,Anacropora,Pavona,Mycedium,尤其是许多属属的细分支鸟类珊瑚Seriatopora。在栖息地的极端,我们偶尔看到A. Suharsonoi生活在较浅的水中;如上图所示,这些菌落往往使用stouter式的直立分支变小。在这些较高的能量位置,这个珊瑚物种确实朝着受保护的栖息地倾向,通常保持很小,有一次我们甚至看到一个完全不错的菌落A. Suharsonoi在大型曲面的直接阴影下生长。
同时,在更深的栖息地或更浑浊的环境中A. Suharsonoigrew in a much more plating fashion. These low-energy Suharsonoi were almost devoid of any upright growing branches and the margins of the colonies grew almost downwards making the colony look something like the roots of a land plant such as in the specimen pictured below. One of the most encouraging aspects of seeing so manyAcroporasuharsonoiin the wild is really getting a feel for the kind of environment this coral prefers and how to mimic its preferences in the home aquarium. The most obvious parameter that will make this species thrive is a decent amount of间接light – it still likes it bright but direct lighting with hotspots are likely to make it bleach.
Speaking of bleaching, the really cool observation we made of this species in the wild is that it is generally abundant and in great health. At some point we stopped taking pictures of this species in Flores and all the colonies we saw were in great health with no signs of bleaching, recession or anything but generally harmony with its environment. We hope this overview fo this iconic ‘deepwater acro’ species will help give reefers a better understanding of how to be successful with this coral in home aquariums and if you have any specific questions, let them fly in the comments below.