❤️💚 Strawberry Shortcake Acropora
Acropora microclados – Red & Green Bicolour Masterpiece
🔹 Quick Stats
Care Level: Advanced
Temperament: Peaceful
Colour Form: A stunning fusion of pastel red-pink corallites and vivid lime green branches, creating a striking dessert-like contrast that made this morph a reefing icon. Under actinic lighting, the red intensifies into cherry tones while the green glows with electric vibrancy.
Water Conditions: 24–27 °C, dKH 8–11, pH 8.0–8.4, sg 1.024–1.026
Family: Acroporidae
Lighting: High (strong PAR and balanced blue-white spectrum)
Water Flow: Strong, random and non-laminar
Placement: Upper reef zones with full exposure
🧬 Overview
The Strawberry Shortcake Acropora is a legendary SPS morph, instantly recognisable by its vivid green base and contrasting pink-to-red corallite tips. Its intricate branching structure and bright dual-tone pigmentation make it one of the most photogenic Acroporas ever introduced to the hobby.
Highly responsive to lighting changes, it develops its most intense colouration under high, stable PAR with consistent nutrient balance. A true centrepiece for serious SPS collectors.
🍽️ Care & Feeding
Primarily photosynthetic, relying on strong light and flow for growth and pigment retention.
For enhanced coloration, provide stable trace element supplementation (especially iron and potassium) and occasional fine coral food or amino acid dosing.
Maintain excellent flow to prevent detritus buildup and to promote healthy polyp extension.
📈 Optimal Parameters
| Parameter | Ideal Range |
|---|---|
| Alkalinity (dKH) | 8–11 |
| Calcium (Ca) | 420–460 ppm |
| Magnesium (Mg) | 1250–1350 ppm |
| Nitrate (NO₃) | 2–10 ppm |
| Phosphate (PO₄) | 0.01–0.05 ppm |
📍 Placement
Place in upper reef areas with strong, variable flow and direct lighting. Allow room for outward branching growth and avoid shading from neighbouring colonies.
❤️💚 Strawberry Shortcake Acropora
A reef classic of timeless beauty — a perfect balance of fiery red and neon green elegance, glowing like a living jewel beneath the waves.