The Strawberry Shortcake was introduced to US reef keepers by Unique Corals back in 2009 at MACNA. It created a lot of buzz and the buzz was certainly justified. It is a striking coral with a greenish body and bright pink tips and polyps. There are many varieties of this acro out there today and they are usually classified as either an Acropora microclados or Acropora nasuta. No matter which one you find it is sure to be a centerpiece coral.
The Strawberry Shortcake requires strong lighting and will do fine under T5s, metal halides and LEDs. As for placement, it is best to have it in the top half of a tank. I have mine in the middle of the tank under a 400W 20,000K Radium bulb and it seems very content. Moderate to strong circulation is recommended for optimal growth and it is also important to have good random flow (random flow replicates waves moving across a natural reef).
The Strawberry Shortcake is considered to be one of the more difficult SPS to keep, requiring the proper calcium (400-440 ppm), alkalinity (8-9 dkh) and magnesium levels (1300-1400 ppm) to thrive. There are many designer SPS corals available today but the beautiful contrasting colors of the Strawberry Shortcake make it a favorite and a must have coral for many SPS enthusiasts. It’s on my top 10 list!
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.
