coral fluorescence?

[tcoral]

OK, tried to do a general google search and some of the info made my head spin (the phd papers, LOL)

I'm pretty new at salt water (started my tank in December). I noticed some of my corals have fluorescence when the main lights go off and the blue moons go on. It's really pretty! some of my Zoa's, mushrooms and one of my SPS corals look positively neon when the lights go out. Then there are some that don't. Currently I have things that glow green, yellow and orange.

Does anybody have a simple explaination and maybe a list of common fluorescening corals (and the colors they glow at night)?

I think it would be neat to have a day/night tank, with a Vegas strip effect when the moon lights go on, with glowing coral at all levels of the tank.

 

[shiveley]

pretty much every coral I can think of will fluoresce under actinic light.

The phenomenon of FLUORESCENCE is when matter of higher energy is being absorbed by a substance, and in term being released by that same substance at a lower energy level. For CORAL FLUORESCENCE, the higher light energy (blue colour) is being absorbed by the Coral, and released in a lower light energy (green or red colour). Thus coral that may appear dull in the daytime, may emit myriad of colours during the dusk period.

Corals produce proteins that fluoresce while hosting symbionts known as zooxanthellae. The fluorescent proteins (FP) may be utilized in part to reflect or re-emit light as needed. Some pigments that make corals appear colorful to our naked eye may be used to reflect excess/"unwanted" light away from shallow-water adapted corals. Or, if the proteins are fluorescing they are probably not "reflecting," but rather the pigments absorb (and then fluoresce) to remove the excess light. - Anthony Calfo

 

[MandM]

Pretty much that ^^^ Anthony Calfo did a cool article on it about a year ago, I think. You can look through the archives for Reefkeeping past issues on the RC home page.

If you have some yellow shooting glasses for viewing or a yellow filter for your digital camera the colors will be even cooler.