Cyphastrea question

[JohnV8r]

Just picked up a Meteor Shower Cyphastrea today. It's a little on the darker side than what I was expecting. However, I was reading through some threads that seemed to indicate that once light acclimated, the higher up in my tank the lighter the colors will become.

Can anyone with MSC experience tell me if that has been your experience? Also, is the color change a wash out or a moving from green w/reddish polyps to blue with pink polyps?

Thanks in advance.

 

[nonstopfishies]

Just picked up a Meteor Shower Cyphastrea today. It's a little on the darker side than what I was expecting. However, I was reading through some threads that seemed to indicate that once light acclimated, the higher up in my tank the lighter the colors will become.

Can anyone with MSC experience tell me if that has been your experience? Also, is the color change a wash out or a moving from green w/reddish polyps to blue with pink polyps?

Thanks in advance.

I would say wash out. The cyph I have doesn't like light at all. I have it under a ledge and the part sticking out from the ledge is pretty bleached compared to the rest of it.

If it is browned out however, it proly needs a little more light. Start in a lower shaded area and slowly work your way up your tank til you find a good spot for it.

 

[JohnV8r]

Thanks for that. I would describe the frag as looking like a cube with each dimension about .5" to .75". Sides are looking a little browned out. Top is a dark teal green. Polyps are more magenta than pink. I currently have it on an exposed ledge 23" below 2 x 250W 20K Radiums w/LumenMax Elite reflectors. I could move the frag down as far as 30" below the lights.

Lights currently run 1 hour in the morning from 7 - 8 am, and four hours in the evening from 6 - 10 pm.

Thoughts?

 

[JDMhoes]

Thats to much light for it. I just picked one up the other day. There were about 6frags on circle plugs. The one I bought the polyps were fully extended because it preferred more flow from the looks of it. The others didn't seem to be open up all the way. Colors sorta depend on your water and light. But they sure don't like to much light. Mine is kinda of a light blue and polyps are pinkish red.

 

[kingfisher62]

I bought mine about two months ago before it opened it looked like this. That was on the bottom of my tank in full light with 216W of T5's . It was looking washed out and stressed after a couple hours of light . So I moved it deep into a cave and gradually moved it out over a week or two after the polyps started to extend. It is lloking pretty good now but I noticed that the shaded side of it is loosing some color so I am planning on gradually centering it on the bottom of the tank so it will have equal lighting on all side. So far I feel that in this coral's if you are going to move it, do it gradually!

 

[JohnV8r]

Thanks guys. I've moved mine down to the bottom of the tank as far down as I can. It just isn't a very happy frag at the moment. As if the light issues haven't been enough, my Diamond Goby knocked it down into the sand and then half buried it. We'll see what happens, but this one may not make it. :0

 

[kingfisher62]

So................ How's it doin!

 

[JohnV8r]

Still alive, but looking a little dull and brown on one side. I've going to leave it alone for another week and then if it isn't looking happier, I'll move it up a little.

 

[kingfisher62]

I noticed that a little on mine too but I also noticed that it has started to encrust over the rock it is laying on. That is promising!

 

[endlessblue]

Tagging along I lost my piece your frag looks great. I thought I shaded mine enough but dought it now.

 

[nivram]

Mine sits on my sand bed or out to the shaded sides and does well. It gets about 150 tO 200 par. I've had it brown before after cutting a piece off. Over time it colored back up.

 

[JohnV8r]

Mine is much happier now. It's not the typical pink and blue cyphastrea. It's more of a dark purple color with peach-like polyps. The good news is it clearly likes the water in my tank as its base is growing all over the rock it is on.

 

[kingfisher62]

I should have mounted mine to a rock sooner. For the longest time I had just placed it on a rock without mounting it permanately . It would start to encrust but then it would get moved and set the whole encrusting thing back to square one. Since I have mounted the coral it has really started to spread quite rapidly.