is my crocea bleaching and why?

[Marshall]

Is this bleaching? It is about 15" below the water and about 18" below a 400w XM 10k bulb single-ended. Also has 6' actinic and 6' daylight across the tank. I got it with 3 other clams and all the others look good BUT this one is the highest up in the tank. I don't have enough experience with clams to know if this is bleaching. Everything else in the tank looks good.

Salinity/pH have been unstable lately due to vacation but have stabilized in the past week at 1.025 and 8.1-8.3 (was down to 7.95 when no kalk was being dripped). Alkalinity has been shifting a bit too with Ca reactor taking a nose dive and then kalk stopping but I think it is between 8-10 dKh now.

Anyways all my SPS and everything look good, did I just put this clam too high? MH are only on 4 hours per day but they are very close to the water. Should I reduce the photoperiod or put some shielding up to lower the intensity?

 

[mbbuna]

it doesnt look like it bleaching to me. those 2 pics have 2 different lighting schemes so there kind of deceiving.

is that a top down pic or do you have the clam tipped on it side?

 

[Marshall]

They are the same clam just one with flash one without (I am no good with cameras, tried to get 2 pics to help with diagnosis). Clams is on his side kind of... more on his side than straight up (it is a straight on pic, not top down). The clam/mantle is angled back so that it all gets light. The specific part of the clam that I am referring to is the grayish region closest to the middle of the clam.
In looking at some other pictures, maybe my clams are losing their electric green? It can't be due to lack of lighting, I have a lot of light!

 

[mbbuna]

this is bleaching

http://www.clamsdirect.com/phpbb2/album_showpage.php?pic_id=713

 

[mbbuna]

you might want to move the clam so that all of the mantle gets light. if it laying over on its side then some parts of the mantle wont get direct lighting and you may get some bleaching. but over all the clam looks good

 

[Marshall]

Maybe this is a color shift due to different lighting from where I got them. They were under natural sunlight in a green house environment and now they are under 10k XM 400s .... I'm glad to know he is doing OK. Thank you for your help.

 

[rkl303]

I'd say its the camera and maybe even the white balance you had it set on the first time you took the picture.

 

[Marshall]

i was asking more about the light grey band of tissue in both pics. thanks