Acans are a diverse and beautiful group of LPS coral that is no longer a single genus, but a group of corals from 3 different Genus’. Acans include Micromussa lordhowensis (Acan Lord), Micromussa amakusensis (Micromussa Acan), Acanthastrea echinata (Acan Echinata), and Homophyllia bowerbanki (Acan Bowerbanki). The lord and amakusensis or micromussa acans are the most commonly seen types of acan. The lords have large colorful polyps that are roughly ½”- 2” across. The micromussa acan has smaller polyps that are clustered together and connected, they are about ⅛”-½” wide. The echinata and bowerbanki acans are more uncommon, the echinata is typically orange with greens and purples, its polyps are also connected like the micromussa, but they are more similar in size to the polyps of the lord. The bowerbanki which is in the same genus as scolymia corals have much larger polyps that range from 1”-3”.
Besides the bowerbanki most acans are very easy to care for, and lord and micromussa acans grow very quickly when provided proper lighting and water conditions. The echinata and bowerbanki are slower growers but like the other acans they like low flow and low to medium light, they prefer dirtier water with nitrates around 5-10 ppm, phosphates at roughly .03-.25 ppm. They prefer calcium levels to be around 400-480 ppm, alkalinity of 7-10 DKH, and magnesium of 1300-1500 ppm. They are photosynthetic and do not need to be fed, but they love to be! They have an incredible feeding reaction that swallows even large pieces of food whole. However, it is best to not overfeed them as they will just regurgitate it and pollute your water. They eat small foods like powdered coral foods and even larger foods like mysis shrimp.
When starting out acan lords are recommended because they are the most forgiving and are easy to find in incredible rainbow hues. The next acan in terms of difficulty is the micromussa, they are slightly more difficult but still nothing to be afraid of. The next level of difficulty when it comes to acans is the echinata, it is not really any more difficult than the micromussa, the only real difference is that they are much slower growers and because of this it can be more difficult to determine their health. Finally the bowerbanki, these acans are perfect for an intermediate reefer who wants a coral that is more unique. They are the slowest growing acans, but can typically be found at larger starting sizes.
We hope this article helped you learn more about these incredible Acans! If you have any other questions or would like to suggest an edit to this article send us an email at queencitycorals@gmail.com, or message us on Facebook or Instagram!
