Who said corals grow slowly? Obviously this Caribbean staghorn coral, Acropora cervicornis didn’t get the memo! Growing at breakneck speed in an aquarium by Atlantic Reef Aquaculture, this precious Atlantic staghorn coral is chronicled through an amazing time lapse video of 198 days of growth. The man who brought us the rebirth of the Live Bottles has also been faithfully imaging their tank every day and more spccifically the permitted Carribean Acropora species for over 6 months. It’s interesting that while the Acro is showing rapidly growing axial corallites, the Ricordea beneath it and the Seafan, Gorgonia ventalina, to the right seem to hardly grow very much at all. What’s up with that Dave? He’ll surely share some info in the comments about the conditions of this tank and what the time lapsing process was like. Before you start getting any big ideas, this colony of protected Acropora cervicornis is strictly not for sale and it is being kept in captivity under a research permit to compare the reef aquarium growth with natural growth rates in the nearby reefs of the Florida Keys.
Time lapse of 198 days of growth by Caribbean staghorn coral, Acropora cervicornis
Jake Adams
Jake Adams has been an avid marine aquarist since the mid 90s and has worked in the retail side of the marine aquarium trade for more than ten years. He has a bachelor’s degree in Marine Science and has been the managing editor of ReefBuilders.com since 2008. Jake is interested in every facet of the marine aquarium hobby from the concepts to the technology, rare fish to exotic corals, and his interests are well documented through a very prolific career of speaking to reef clubs and marine aquarium events, and writing articles for aquarium publications across the globe. His primary interest is in corals which Jake pursues in the aquarium hobby as well as diving the coral reefs of the world.
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