Is Brown Bad

[matty0h_52]

I just took the leap into SPS and when i bought my first little piece (pry inch and a quarter) the color was not great but now the plyps are brown but it does have some pritty nice Green ones. And polyp EX is great, from what i can tell, there allways out and feeling around. So does Brown really mean Bad? Does it mean its not healthy?

Oh and where talking about a Green slimer i think its called.

 

[Pineapple House]

From my experience, some corals are simply just naturally brown. There's really nothing you can do about it. In these cases, being Brown is completely healthy. However, if the coral in question is really a Green Slimer (A. yongei), then I have a feeling that being Brown is likely due to several reasons:
High Phosphate
Low Lighting
High Nutrient Levels

These tend to be the most common reasons for acroporas browning out, although the reasons can differ from tank to tank. Could you give us some specs on your tank?

Thanks,
Graham

 

[matty0h_52]

My tank- Berlin style/ No fuge
200g 48x20x20
Lighting
2-250w MH
1-400w MH
flow
1-Tunze 6060
1-seio M820
1-Iwaki 70RLT closed loop (flow cut back allot-origanally bought for return pump but it was over sized)
1- Iwaki RL20XT
skimmer-
AquaC-180 w/ mag 9.5 (may look under sized but i only have one fish, and plan to mabey add two more)

Nitrates-0 (salifert)
Calc-380-420 (salifert)
Phos-2 (some crapy test kit i think its red sea)

I feed 5 times a week (one fish) A. Yongei (thx for the real name) is at the bottom of the tank under a 400w MH 20k mabey 2-2 1/2 feet. The only part that really bugs me is that the front of him has great plyp EX but the back of him not so good...im assumeing cause the light isnt hitting it. Should i move it higher? Mabey about a foot away from my 13k 250w MH? thx

 

[robthorn]

there are probably more reasons for brown than anyone of us can claim to know. brown can be perfectly healthy but sometimes when corals are shipped or taken out of water or taken from one tank to the next with different parameters can cause a browning reaction. I am not sure if anyone knows why all I can say is I don't but have seen it several times. with your lighting it shouldn't stay brown long. even if your water is or isn't perfect.

 

[Jeffie]

It's very likely that it may not be a slimer too. Did you see the coral before in the tank it came from?
I'm assuming there are lots of divers on this board, but if not when you are diving I would say that 90% of the corals in the ocean are brown and they just pick the diamonds from the rough so to speak for the aquarium trade.....

 

[matty0h_52]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7478112#post7478112 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by robthorn
there are probably more reasons for brown than anyone of us can claim to know. brown can be perfectly healthy but sometimes when corals are shipped or taken out of water or taken from one tank to the next with different parameters can cause a browning reaction. I am not sure if anyone knows why all I can say is I don't but have seen it several times. with your lighting it shouldn't stay brown long. even if your water is or isn't perfect.

I have had the slimer mabey 1.5 months. should i rase it up closer to the lighting? its allmost 2.5 feet away from the 400 and its a 20k

 

[matty0h_52]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7478153#post7478153 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Jeffie
It's very likely that it may not be a slimer too. Did you see the coral before in the tank it came from?
I'm assuming there are lots of divers on this board, but if not when you are diving I would say that 90% of the corals in the ocean are brown and they just pick the diamonds from the rough so to speak for the aquarium trade.....

True but Not All Corals Are brown in the ocean, And i would hate to beleve that they have allways been brown. I bet 20 30 years ago there were so many colors down there compared to today.

 

[matty0h_52]

Heres a pic when i first bought it. Its mabey 2 shades browner and the base is like a 1/2in encrusted down the base and its mabey 1/4in taller

 

[mntl]

Not a slimer imo, if your tank tests clean/lacks most visible algea, then I would move it up in the light (not all the way up) but higher than it is. If there are some nutrient (n03 p04) issues, then that would be my focus.

just my .02c

-John-

 

[matty0h_52]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7478503#post7478503 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mntl
Not a slimer imo, if your tank tests clean/lacks most visible algea, then I would move it up in the light (not all the way up) but higher than it is. If there are some nutrient (n03 p04) issues, then that would be my focus.

just my .02c

-John-

If its not a slimer...whats your guess?

 

[mntl]

Slimers have longer coralites and green-brown polyps. The coralites in the last pic are more flat against the acro like a milli or prostrata, and the polyps are stringy like them also. Could be something else but I would guess closer to milli or prostrata than slimer, do you have a closer pic?

-John-

 

[matty0h_52]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7478673#post7478673 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mntl
Slimers have longer coralites and green-brown polyps. The coralites in the last pic are more flat against the acro like a milli or prostrata, and the polyps are stringy like them also. Could be something else but I would guess closer to milli or prostrata than slimer, do you have a closer pic?

-John-

The Plyps are brown, mixed with Green. I will try and get another pic tonight. You have a pic of a mili so i can compare?

 

[mntl]

Here is a link to a slimer (best I could find quickly) HERE The coralites extend from the acro and are not flush against it. The pic is not very close, but sinse your acro is right in front of you I am sure you could compare.

HERE is a green milli

and

HERE is a blue prostrata (middle of page). sorry could not find green.

Look at the coralites and see which is closest in your opinion, colors will vary obviously.

-John

 

[mntl]

This is what they look like in the wild/closer pics

Yongei or green slimer

Millipora or milli

Prostrata

-John-

 

[Pineapple House]

Yeah, the coral you posted is definitely not an A. yongei. I would also guess for A. millepora/A. prostrata. It all depends on how the coral grows out as A. prostrata tends to have a staghorn-like growth form.

I would try to find the cause of your phosphate issue. Are you saying you have 2ppm of phosphate? If so, that's huge and would definitely cause the browning out of your corals. Or, perhaps I'm misreading your post/test results? Was it in ppm?

I also agree to move it closer to the lighting, even though I to doubt that's the issue. Find out more about your phosphate as that can have a huge impact on the corals coloration. Are you getting a lot of algae growth?

Take Care,
Graham