Acropora awi is another deepwater beauty!

Acropora awi is a deep water Acropora that has been grown in Indonesian mariculture farms for quite a while. Nevertheless, it has never had the credit it deserves, probably due to misidentification, and its dull natural coloration. But after cooking it for a few weeks in a proper reef system, the colors it developed transformed it into a real reef tank Acro supermodel!

Acropora awi is not the most spectacular Acropora in the wild.

Description

Acropora awi has an indeterminate, predominantly hispidose colony shape. Radial corallites are one size or graded, and have an appressed tubular shape. Its long and tubular axial corallites are slightly bigger than its radial corallites.

The classic appearance in the wild of Acropora awi. Note the regular-shaped corallites.

Habitat

It is found in calm, turbid bays, usually below 15 m (45 ft), and all the way to 30 m (90ft). In lives in bays where food is abundant, and food accumulates and settles, among large fields of other deepwater Acropora (A. carduus, A. subglabra, A. halmaherae), Anacropora, and branching Cyphastrea.

Close-up of a branch of Acropora awi. Note the fluorescent internal axial corallite.
These pigments grow out of the corallite in aquarium conditions.

Maintenance

Like all deepwater Acros, it’s not fond of intense lighting. A par of 150-200 is more than enough, and it can even survive with lower light than that. The bays in which they are found receive quite a bit of nutrients and large phytoplankton blooms get trapped and consumed there.

A green color morph exists from Indonesia, which becomes intense yellow under aquarium conditions.

As in many deepwater acros, the brown coloration, packed with zooxanthellae tends to develop red pigments, and the whole colony becomes bright pink/red with fluorescent yellow corallites. Tentacles stay purple in color, which gives a very intense contrast on the branch tips.

We will never cease to promote the benefits of deepwater Acros in the home aquarium. They are among the most rewarding Acropora, and can be grown using the lowest budget possible.

Another specimen of cooked Acropora awi in the Bali Aquarium system, the result is spectacular!

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.