Hey, Reefers! Let’s talk Micromussa lordhowensis!
Today, we’re going to cover one of the most popular and well-known LPS Corals, Micromussa Lordhowensis, most commonly referred to as Acan Lords!
Lords mainly come from the reefs surrounding Australia. These stunning LPS corals are highly sought after by Reefers due to their diverse, vibrant colors, intricate patterns, fleshy polyps, and relatively easy care requirements!
Lords have been thriving in home reef aquariums for decades! Like most LPS Corals For Sale, they are relatively simple in their care and tank requirements. Lower to Moderate lighting levels and gentle flow are recommended to encourage their growth and further coloration! Lords grow outward, sprouting additional polyps around their sides as they grow. Not to mention, they tend to gain additional coloration and only get more vibrant with time! They are a great coral for growth but won’t outgrow their location as fast as some of their tank mates.
Feeding Lord corals is one of the most satisfying parts of having one! While they are primarily photosynthetic due to their zooxanthellae, like most corals, they are very hardy eaters when it comes to spot feeding! We target, or spot feed, small meaty foods like mysis and brine shrimp 2-3 times a week. They’ll also benefit from finer foods like Reef Roids and Benepets. They open up beautifully while eating! Showing off their internal tentacles and inner coloration makes them very rewarding to keep! In our experience, regular target feeding is essential for their continued health, growth, and coloration. They will also benefit from having available nutrients in the water column, so broadcast feeding is another way to ensure they remain healthy in the long term.
Stable water parameters are key to keeping Lords healthy and vibrant long term. They do best in salinity of 1.025-1.026, water temps of 75 – 78 degrees, Calcium of 400 – 450 ppm, Magnesium from 1250 – 1350 ppm and Alkalinity of 8 – 12 dKH.
Lords are a great coral to frag, whether it’s to share with your reefing friends or to create new future colonies! As with all fragging, make sure to wear sterile gloves so as to not transmit bacteria and other substances from your hands to the coral and to not cause irritation of your skin from the coral slime. Yes, that’s right! Expect the Lords to produce a good amount of coral slime to protect themselves from the air as a defense mechanism from the stress of cutting and from bacteria/organisms.
We always recommend safety glasses to avoid fragments and liquids from getting into your eyes. Using a coral saw is the way to go; it’s a more controlled and less stressful means to frag. Be sure to carefully cut between the polyps along the skeletal ridges and avoid the center of the polyps when possible. After mounting the frags to a disc or plug with aquarium-safe glue or epoxy, use an iodine solution designed for corals, commonly found on Bulk Reef Supply, that will help sterilize and minimize the risk of infection from bacteria—mix as directed on the bottle and for the amount of time suggested. After dipping the Lords in the iodine solution and then rinsing them off in a container of your tank saltwater, place the Lords in medium flow and lower to moderate lighting. Flow is key to bringing nutrients to the newly formed frags and will also help with slime removal and in warding off algae/tank films from growing and settling on the newly exposed skeletal edges produced from cutting.
One of the most incredible parts of Lords is their extremely diverse coloration and wildly intricate patterns! Beautiful, vibrant shades of red, orange, green, blue, purple, pink, and gold, to name a few! Usually in multi-colored pattern combinations with stripes and rings! Leading to an almost infinite number of combinations! Some of the most stunning variations of these corals are Rainbow Lords! The best of the best lords, with unreal, one-of-a-kind combinations and patterns that are every coral collector’s dream! If you’re looking for that ultimate coral glow under blue lighting spectrums, then definitely check them out!
Lords are one of the most rewarding, easy to care for, extremely hardy, faster growing and great for all levels of aquarium hobbyists, corals out there!
