Acropora clathrata

Acropora clathrata is a true table Acropora, forming a fused lattice plate that spreads horizontally like a shelf. The interwoven, latticed structure is distinctive even before colour develops. In aquaculture it is usually brown or green with purple tips along the growing plate edge, the rim carrying most of the colour.

Care

Keep this advanced table species in a mature, stable SPS system. Alkalinity stability comes above all else — hold it flat and correct slowly — with calcium and magnesium kept consistent to support plate growth. Flow must be high and strongly random, washing both over and under the plate; a constant jet is wrong in both directions, blasting the top while the underside stagnates. Light is high, around PAR 250–400 for the upper surface, acclimated gradually. Health signs are an encrusting base at the central mount, polyp extension across the plate, and a clean, coloured growing rim with no tissue loss underneath.

Placement and growth

Place it in the middle to top zone on a point where the plate can extend horizontally without hitting glass or rock. Tables need wide room — plan a broad, clear footprint well beyond the frag, not just the standard spacing — while still keeping at least 2 in of minimum clearance from any neighbour at the plate edge. Growth is moderate; the colony first encrusts, then expands outward as a lattice, shading whatever is below it, so plan lower placements accordingly.