Help With Beautiful Lobophyllia Coral, Pictures Included

L337PCNOOB

New member
Hey guys, I'm new to the forum and was wondering if I could get some help with a Red Lobophyllia coral. Below is some detailed information about my tank and parameters. My tank is a 20 gallon long tank with a dimmable full spectrum LED Light. 55 LEDs Total 120W Maximum Output; 2 Channel Intensity Control.
Configurable 8,000K to 20,000K Color Temperature; Full Spectrum from Violet (420nm) to Red (660nm) with 90 Degree Optic Lenses.

The lights are roughly 16 inches above the aquarium rim. Blues 50%, whites 20~%. Light cycle 12 hours actinic/blues, 8 hours whites/spectrum.

I have a jebao wp10 powerhead on "Else" mode providing more than adequate circulation.

My test parameters are running as follows:
Nitrates: 0
Phosphates: Undetectable
SG: 1.025
Calcium: 420
Temp: 78-80
dKH: 8.5
PH 8.1

20 pounds of live rock, 30 pounds of live sand.

Fluval Sea HOB filter running carbon with PhosGuard mixed in. Weekly 10% water changes. I dose a few drops of Kents marine essentials after water change along with bacteria (biological filter enhancer)

My red lobophyllia for some reason is losing it's Zooxanthellae. I can literately observe it spitting out big globs of "RED" waste and the flesh is kind of see through or clear. However, it still puffs up and i can get a feeding response from it at night, but i'm wondering what is causing this Lobo to lose its color when my parameters are on point. I have 3 lobos, 1 green, 1 grey/orange frag, and the red lobo. I have 1 BTA anemone that i purchased bleachedm 2 monti caps, 1 frog spawn, acan colony, long green star polyps, favia, 1 mushroom and pulsating xenia. 2 chromis, 1 tomato clown, 1 six line wrasse.

Picture below of what it looked like when purchasing and after.
 

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I have had lobo's for years, have 5 of them currently. They like to be fed, similar to an acan. So make sure they are getting food. The do not like a lot of light, keep them lower in the tank and possibly in a partial shaded area.
 
If its expelling zooxanthelae, your giving it too much light. Move it to a shaded spot, or reduce your lighting intensity.
 
Thanks, I have since moved lobo to area with less light (under a shaded overhang) but my stupid BTA moved there so i had to move lobo again to edge of tank. It looks like the BTA is moving out the that spot slowly but surely and i will move the lobo back. Ill try to post some pictures here soon.
 
So i have moved the lobo to the following spot pictured. Should this be ok? It is partially shaded and im spot feeding fauna marin LPS pellets everyday.
 

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I just don't get it as i have never been able to keep lobos successfully, even if my water parameters are watched religiously. As you can see another picture of a lobo frag that is also turning clear. Mind boggling:uhoh3:

Here is a shot of my ACAN, FROG SPAWN, GREEN LOBO.
 

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