are commly kept colorful corals the same color in the wild?
- Thread starter Reefski's
- Start date
sfsuphysics
Active member
Well having a closed ecosystem surely does change colors some how. But I think one reason you don't see those colors in the wild is quite frankly the lighting, we do a poor job at reproducing natural sunlight in any type of accuracy. Sure you might argue that deeper waters are more blue or what not, but qute frankly 20kK bulbs does not mimic natural light at ANY depth, ditto with actinic lighting, yes those wavelengths do exist in natural sunlight but there's so much other that overwhelms those little 420nm areas.
Now that was just the lighting to get the colors that really "pop". I think the other side is that brown is just what happens in nature, I've read that in some areas over 99% of the corals are brown or other dull variations (that doesn't mean they're doing bad either), now if that's the norm, then we basically get a small fraction of what's out there.
Anyways I'm sure there are other reasons, but if I had to put money on "brightness" I'd have to say our lights artificially make corals look that way. Two tests to get this hypothesis, 1) turn your tank lights out and have regular room lights on, do your corals look as vibrant? 2) if you can remove a particular colorful frag from the tank and bring it outside in the sunlight to see if it still pops.
Now that was just the lighting to get the colors that really "pop". I think the other side is that brown is just what happens in nature, I've read that in some areas over 99% of the corals are brown or other dull variations (that doesn't mean they're doing bad either), now if that's the norm, then we basically get a small fraction of what's out there.
Anyways I'm sure there are other reasons, but if I had to put money on "brightness" I'd have to say our lights artificially make corals look that way. Two tests to get this hypothesis, 1) turn your tank lights out and have regular room lights on, do your corals look as vibrant? 2) if you can remove a particular colorful frag from the tank and bring it outside in the sunlight to see if it still pops.
tacocat
Premium Member
Re: are commly kept colorful corals the same color in the wild?
Really? I do. Take a look at the picture of that exposed reef being washed by the breakers.
You can thumb through this site:
http://www.stickycricket.com/reefstewards/tonga_albums/album_collecting/phpslideshow.php
It's a collection facility in Tonga.
Really? I do. Take a look at the picture of that exposed reef being washed by the breakers.
You can thumb through this site:
http://www.stickycricket.com/reefstewards/tonga_albums/album_collecting/phpslideshow.php
It's a collection facility in Tonga.
Eric Boerner
Coral Cutter
Its because they dont photograph well. Its a problem with underwater cameras at a lower depth. You need to use a flash in most cases and the colors wash out as a result. Just as if you took a picture of your hot pink milli with the lights on in the tank, and with a flash, it would look brown.
Justin/TiV
New member
Thanx for posting that link that was cool. And how I'ld love to collect stuff like that...some of this, some of that...I'd be like a kid in a candy store...lol
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