Giant staghorn corals so big they make you feel small

There are staghorn acros and then there are STAGHORN corals! It is astounding to see the massive size that some species can reach in their preferred habitat amnd stumble upon the kinds of gargantuan ship-grounding sizes the colonies and their branches can reach.

We know how fast “aquarium” staghorns can grow and while it is beautiful to see fields of medium-branched stahorns like Acropora formosa, but these super colonies only grow a few feet tall, despite often covering huge expanses of reef real estate. The Giant Staghorn corals are different though, growing from a single base and into huge mega-colonies which don’t spread out the same as the weedy staghorns. The impressively large staghorn corals we sighted at Kwajalein Atoll are probably one of several species including Acropora abrotanoides and Acropora robusta as no other super thick branched species of Acros are known to grow like this in the Marshall Islands.

In clear shallow water with plenty of water flow and wave action, the giant staghorn corals can grow to ten feet high, with basal branched approaching five inches in diameter. At this scale these tree-sized corals have got to be approaching thirty to fifty years old a piece, if not older. We are awash with awe and respect for these ancients of the reefs who survived and grew in the Marshall Islands through several wars, innumerable storms and all of the challenges that human pressures have thrown at them.

This staghorn coral is so massive that it was possible to get "inside" and take this silhouetted photo — This staghorn coral is so massive that it was possible to get “inside” and take this silhouetted photo

too-tall-Jake is dwarfed by this massive staghorn coral colony

Some oceanside habitats are dominated by fields of these massive staghorn colonies - these are the kinds that sink ships — Some oceanside habitats are dominated by fields of these massive staghorn colonies – these are the kinds that sink ships

Mega stagorn acropora can tower of neighboring large corals

This tangle of giant staghorn branches is a playground for small and large fish alike

We couldn't even get our man-hands around the circumference of this massive staghorn branch — We couldn’t even get our man-hands around the circumference of this massive staghorn branch

This is the colony that we took to calling the "Staghorn Cathedral" due to its extreme height — This is the colony that we took to calling the “Staghorn Cathedral” due to its extreme height

This is the medium size of the thick branching staghorn colonies

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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.