ORA Aquaculture Tri-Color Valida Acropora

About the ORA Aquaculture Tri-Color Valida Acropora

Care Level: Moderate
Temperament: Peaceful
Reef Safe: Yes
Diet: Filter Feeder
Minimum Tank Size: 10 Gallons
Placement: Middle to Top
Lighting: Moderate to High
Waterflow: Strong

The ORA Tri-Color Valida is a beautiful coral that is primarily purple in color.  As the Tri-Color name points out it also has green polyps and a green or brown base.  ORA has several slightly different Valida variants in cultivation. While all are hardy and fast growing, some have thicker branches and some grow larger or bushier than others. The differences in Valida variants are typically so slight that it does not warrant separate trade names.

These coral frags are well encrusted to the base on which they are grown. They are fully matured as individual coral colonies. Designed to be grown-out in the home aquarium, they range in size from 1-2 inches, and are mounted on 1/2″ inch diameter plastic plugs. These frags are truly aquacultured specimens, 6 or 7 generations removed from the original wild colonies. No tissue or skeleton of wild brood-stock corals remain.

The advanced quality control methods used, ensure only problem-free specimens are sold. These corals are grown in a greenhouse culture facility in Florida and/or the Marshall Islands. They are under shaded sunlight, complemented by 250 Watt, 10,000K double-ended HQI Metal Halide lights. They are fully ready to be acclimated to aquarium light, water and flow conditions. They are grown in natural seawater so proper acclimation to artificial saltwater is recommended.

Frags grown on plastic plugs can be mounted in a number of different ways. Many hobbyists just place the plug between pieces of live rock. Another method is to drill a 1/2″ diameter hole in the rock and simply place the plug in the hole. This method can be used to mount the coral at different angles. Some aquarists simply snap the coral off the plug and use epoxy to mount it to the rock.