Given its vivid coloration, the ORA Pearlberry is a must have coral for many SPS collectors. When it first came out it generated a lot of excitement and I was stoked to add it to my tank. According to ORA’s description of the Pearlberry, the coral looks like an Acropora desalwii, although they never came up with an official lineage.
The coral has purplish tips, greenish corallites and a gorgeous pearlescent coloration on the branches. My piece just seemed to glow, emitting new colors every time I looked at it. When I had it in my prior tank the coral was very happy high up in the reef under 400W Radiums with supplemental T5 lighting. However, the coral can do well in the middle part of a tank with medium lighting.
No matter where it resides just make sure it receives a decent amount of random flow. Like many corals, the Pearlberry will grow in different shapes depending on the type of flow it receives. It typically grows in a compact ball shape but I have seen it table out with strong flow going across the top of its branches.
My “Tabling” ORA Pearlberry
Fragging an ORA Pearlberry
The Pearberry does have very fragile branches and can be a difficult one to frag. For me it was either feast or famine when it was time to propagate the coral, with some cuts resulting in one inch frags and others yielding mini colonies! Frags do take time to establish themselves but once they become settled the coral can grow very quickly, so make sure you give them plenty of room to grow. I have had them get as big as a football and quickly encroach on neighboring corals.
Give the ORA Pearlberry a shot the next time you are looking for a cool and interesting frag to add to your tank. It is one of my favorites and I am sure it will be one of yours as well.
Additional Resources
If you would like some help with a new tank build, including help designing a custom aquarium, or help re-configuring your current setup then you can visit this page for more information. And if you are looking to add some equipment, I do sell GHL, Pax Bellum, Reef Octopus Calcium and Kalk Reactors and Royal Exclusiv products, including Dreamboxes, which is the equipment I use and recommend. I also sell Reef Brite metal halide and LED fixtures as well as Maxspect & IceCap Gyres.
As for additional insights and information, please explore my many other reef tank and SPS related articles as well as my YouTube channel. For an even deeper dive into reef tank care you can check out my Reef Keeping Master Class. This online course is an immersive and one of a kind educational tool designed to help reef aquarium hobbyists build and maintain a beautiful SPS reef tank. The course is a series of video presentations with some supplemental video from my YouTube channel. There are also quizzes to help students retain and understand the information presented in the course.
Need some frags…..I can help with that as well 🙂 Please visit my SPS Frag store to see what is available.
