This is Where Micro Lord Corals Come From

Nic from Ultra Coral Australia gave us the chance to visit the land of Micromussa lordhowensis, or ‘Acans land’ and boy, this place didn’t disappoint us. We got lucky to see in their habitat, all the most popular varieties of ‘Lords’ & Micros – Rainbow, Ultra, Pink, Gold, Yellow and of course the classic reds and green, you name it, we saw it!

2 different M. lordhowensis growing next to each other. These are probably left overs from previous collection that have grown back.

A nice red and gold M. lordhowensis. Some of the colony appear like in most aquarium, with very inflated tissues.

A Nice Rainbow M. lordhowensis before collection.

It’s well known that the best Micromussa lordhowensis come from Australia but they don’t exactly come from the same place as most other Aussie corals. Where they are the most abundant is on subtropical, swell pounded, soft corals and sea fan dominated rocky shores. This is the southern part of the Great Barrier Reef.

Soft corals such as Sarcophyton sp, Lobophytum sp, and Sea Fans are better adapted to heavy swell due to their flexible structure. But the dominant hard coral specie on these rocky reefs is Turbinaria mesenterina. It is growing there, everywhere. Probably that its very dense hard skeleton, and cup shape, helps it to resist in this harsh environment.

Natural habitat of Micromussa lordhowensis. Note the numerous seaweed growing around it.

Micromussa lordhowensis lives on this rocky shore, dominated by seaweed. They just form a thin encrusting layer above the rock, and collecting can be tricky to just scrape this coral layer without breaking it. They tend to be more abundant right at the back of where the swell breaks. Where nutrients are sank into the water column, and oxygen is high, just behind the energy pounded zone.

Classic green M. lordhowensis next to a nice green Homophyllia australis

They can only be collected when the swell and wind are down. Visibility is usually just few meters on this shores, due to the proximity of many creeks. The water is heavily charged with sediments and plenty of food available for corals.

Nothing beats a good Rainbow M. lordhowensis

The Pink M. lordhowensis is a coloration that is amazing !

The rusty M. lordhowensis is a coloration we don’t see very often.

Even though most Micromussa lordhowensis, are collected in quite shallow water, between 3 m (10 ft) and 15 m (45ft), it’s where they are the most abundant. They don’t really like very strong lighting. Probably due to the high turbidity and constant white water at the surface. But for sure they wouldn’t mind being blasted with heavy flow every once in a while.

Rusty M. lordhowensis can be tricky to spot among these rocky shores.

Good Rainbow M. lordhowensis camouflages well on the rocks.

Bright Pink M. lordhowensis glows in the dark.

So the natural habitat of this coral, is nothing close to the really classic Acropora dominated reef tank. But due to this very specific environment, with heavy swell and turbid water, this coral is probably able to adapt well to any kind of environment. If the light is not too strong and the food available, it should do well, in almost any reef tank.

Vincent Chalias

Vincent is a coral passionate aquarist with extensive experience in the industry, travelling the world to learn about corals. His background is a master degree in Marine Aquaculture. He set up the first Indonesian Coral mariculture farms at the beginning of the century and spent over 20 years in Indonesia running them. He's been extensively diving and documenting corals all over the Indo-Pacific.