Acanthastrea echninata
Acanthastrea echinata, commonly known as Starry Cup Corals, are large polyp stony (LPS) corals found in intense orange to intense green and red colour combinations.
Their corallite walls are not separate, rather all its corallite walls are shared between the individual polyps. When their polyps are fully expanded, corallite walls appear separate. They are found in a wide range of habitats and depths on the reef.
They are aggressive towards other coral species and need to be kept away from other corals.
They have tentacles that come out at night and sting nearby corals. Also, if close enough they are capable of everting their stomach onto a nearby coral and digest the tissue right out of the skeleton.
Basic Water Parameters
pH
8.0 to 8.3
Salinity
34 - 36ppm
Temperature
24.0 - 26.0 Celsius
Husbandry Requirements
Lighiting
Flow
Aggressiveness
Acclimation Guide
- It is highly recommended to acclimate all corals to a new environment to prevent shocking corals.
- Place the corals in the water from the packing bags and slowly add the water from new environment (Dripping method is recommended).
- Use the water parameter above as a guide.
- When the vessel becomes full , replace the water with the new environment water by a small amount at a time.
- Ensure the water temperature matches with the new environment’s water.
- After the corals have spent adequate time in the acclimation water, gently place the corals to a new environment.
- It is recommended to place new corals under lower light intensity than usually required. Once corals show no signs of stress, it can be moved to higher lighting area gradually.”