Jekyll & Hyde Grafted Acropora: The Colony That Regrows the Opposite Color
The Jekyll & Hyde Grafted Acropora mother colony — the coral your frag is cut from — under Actinic Radion Mobius lighting. Colors shift under different lighting; each piece is cut to order.
What is Jekyll & Hyde Grafted Acropora?
Jekyll & Hyde is a grafted Acropora named for a rare trait: whether you frag a red section or a green section, the piece can develop the opposite color over time. That bidirectional grafting expression is seldom seen in Acropora, and it makes every frag from this colony unpredictable to grow and watch.
The story: one branch, two colors, six years
TIA grew this colony from a single branch. After five to six years in the system it developed into a colony roughly the size of two to three tennis balls. What makes it fascinating is its grafting behavior — TIA has repeatedly seen a red-fragged piece throw green, and a green-fragged piece throw red, as it matures. This kind of bidirectional grafting is rarely seen in grafted Acropora, so every piece from this lineage stays uniquely interesting to grow and observe.
Why grafted Acropora are collector pieces
Grafting means two or more color genotypes share one skeleton. In most grafted corals the color zones are fixed; in Jekyll & Hyde they trade places as the coral grows — the reason it reads more like a living experiment than a static strain, and why bidirectional grafts like this sit high on SPS collectors' want-lists.
Care requirements
Jekyll & Hyde is an advanced SPS — best for reef keepers already comfortable with Acropora husbandry.
| Parameter | Target |
|---|---|
| Lighting (PAR) | 250–400 PAR; strong blue-spectrum light brings out both the red and green |
| Flow | Moderate-to-strong, turbulent, randomized |
| Placement | Upper half of a mature reef aquarium |
| Temperature | 76–79 °F |
| Salinity | 1.025–1.026 |
| Alkalinity | 8–9 dKH |
| Calcium | 400–450 ppm |
| Magnesium | 1300–1400 ppm |
Reef safe. As with any Acropora, stable parameters matter more than peak numbers.
Buying a Jekyll & Hyde frag
Every piece is cut to order from the mother colony. After we cut your frag, we send you a video of it, and we recommend allowing about 14 days of heal time before expecting full recovery. Every order is covered by TIA's 3-day live-arrival guarantee, and TIA has grown and named collector corals since 2008.
→ See the current Jekyll & Hyde release
Related grafted Acropora: TIA Signature Chromaflair, TIA Neon Mosaic Grafted Tenuis · All TIA Signature Acropora →
Frequently asked questions
What makes Jekyll & Hyde Acropora special? It is a bidirectional grafted Acropora: frag a red section and it can regrow green, frag a green section and it can regrow red. TIA has observed this repeatedly over the colony's five-to-six years in their system. That behavior is rarely seen in grafted Acropora.
How much light does Jekyll & Hyde need? Moderate-to-high light, roughly 250–400 PAR. Strong blue-spectrum reef lighting brings out both the red and the green coloration.
Is Jekyll & Hyde beginner-friendly? No — it is an advanced SPS for aquarists experienced with Acropora. It wants stable parameters: 76–79 °F, salinity 1.025–1.026, alkalinity 8–9 dKH, calcium 400–450 ppm, magnesium 1300–1400 ppm.
What flow and placement does it want? Moderate-to-strong, turbulent, randomized flow, placed in the upper half of a mature reef aquarium where lighting is strong and parameters stay stable.