Birdsnest question

[Mcgeezer]

I bought a ORA Green birdsnest colony about a month ago and it appears to be healthy. Tips of branches are white indicating growth and all polyps in direct light fluoresce....but my question is....the branches appear semi brown. I assume its healthy because otherwise it appears normal. It's dark so I can't get a good picture of it now, but I want to know if it's ok? Someone told me ORA pieces have brown stalks.

I know many corals will brown out due to too much zooxanthellae, but I believe the polyps brown out too...?

I honestly haven't seen much growth out of it since I bought it....but I don't have any pics to substantiate growth either.

My parameters are all good.

 

[msderganc]

Similar issue with a birdsnest, so I'm interested to see what people say...

 

[barry_keith]

Brown usually means one or both of the following. High nutrients, or not enough light. What's your no3 and po4 levels? Any algae in the tank?

 

[msderganc]

Maybe it's shading itself as it goes?

 

[Reefvet]

Which ORA Birdsnest ?

 

[barry_keith]

What's the thick orange sps? I have the same coral just purple.

 

[Reefvet]

Not sure which one you mean. There's an orange Setosa in front of an orange Psammocora

 

[barry_keith]

Psammocora, thats it. Thanks. I've had the coral for years never knew.

 

[Reefvet]

They don't all branch. Some Psammocora just plate. I have a bright green one and a pink one that are plating.

 

[Zen685]

I bet the branches aren't getting enough flow. I've heard that birdsnest corals will grow less or more dense based on the level of flow they receive and it's a good idea to buy frags vs. colonies for that reason.

 

[Mcgeezer]

It gets good flow where it's at. Here's a pic below. My parameters are good...very little algae. See pic

<a href="http://s72.photobucket.com/user/coglitosway/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-08/IMG_20140821_195733_zpsalw1qbee.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i175/coglitosway/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-08/IMG_20140821_195733_zpsalw1qbee.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_20140821_195733_zpsalw1qbee.jpg"/></a>

 

[Mcgeezer]

I run 3 ATI bulbs and one regular 10k white. Two blue + and one purple +. I'm guessing the 10k bulb is making the brown appearance more prominent.

 

[maxxin69]

It gets good flow where it's at. Here's a pic below. My parameters are good...very little algae. See pic

<a href="http://s72.photobucket.com/user/coglitosway/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-08/IMG_20140821_195733_zpsalw1qbee.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i175/coglitosway/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-08/IMG_20140821_195733_zpsalw1qbee.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_20140821_195733_zpsalw1qbee.jpg"/></a>

It looks fine to me. Mine is the same color and has been growing like wildfire.

 

[Mcgeezer]

I'm going to start using acro power tonight. I plan on taking a pic in 2 weeks to see the difference.

 

[balddave1216]

I think your worrying about a prob that doesn't exist. It looks fine to me. I think it all depends on PE that helps with appearance

 

[shih87]

IMO...Birdsnest and staghorn are two spa grow pretty fast in tank...

You can check my monthly FTS to see how Birdsbest grow rate http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2308288&page=17

It is red Birdsnest, but I recently (3 months) got a green one like yours, it grow as fast as red one.

 

[buy_baff]

Yep looks like a normal seriatopora guttatus to me.

 

[Reefvet]

That's a perfectly healthy coral. The coloration is normal. Enjoy it :bounce1:

 

[Reefvet]

I'm going to start using acro power tonight. I plan on taking a pic in 2 weeks to see the difference.

Keep your eyes on everything if you're going to dose AP. It's good stuff but you can easily over dose and have excessive algae growth.

 

[bigchris7226]

I found that keeping them close to the bottom helps them really green. this is the 3rd colony from the original ora frag 3yrs ago. they grow really fast once they settle in & your levels are stable. I usauly start over every 7 months as they tend to start dying from the bottom due to lack of flow & light.