Neon yellow florida Ric HELP

[Whiterabbitrage]

Got a great Ricordia florida but its not doing well. I've got blue, orange and aqua that are all doing fine. Then I got a new one. It's florescent yellow with touches of florescent orange and 5 neon green mouths. Over the two months it has been shrinking. I am thinking it is a lighting issue, but I can't tell if it needs more light or less. It is not bleaching, but it is turning more brown, less colorful. It is at the bottom of the tank, and there's 6 T5 bulbs; 2 actinic, 3Blue Plus and 1Aquablue Special. Temp is 77, pH is 8.2, Ca is 460, Mg is 1240 and Alk is 9, iodine is 0.06.

Any help or suggestions? I'd be greatful. Really, really want to save this guy.

 

[el_pinguino]

Ricordeas change color. It's just what they do, unless you match the conditions of their original environment perfectly.

In terms of lighting, you can tell if they are not getting enough if they start to cup or stretch upwards. If they lie flat, they are probably fine.

Getting too much light is one of the reasons why they might shrink. But it isn't the only reason. But most of the time it's a mystery.

The first thing I would try is feeding it. If it shows a feeding response, that is an indicator of good health.

 

[Whiterabbitrage]

Thank you. Am so frustrated cause it was doing fine, then all of a sudden started shrinking and now won't eat. I've tried shading it, I've tried a bit more extra blue light, bit more white, but nothing helps. Florida Rics are supposed to be easy! It's painful watching something so beautiful fade away. Worse still is that I got it from Coral-morphologic and they are no longer selling shrooms. This little guy can never be replaced. I'd give him a dip but he's on a big unmovable rock. Guess he's just doomed. Don't know what else to try.
Thanks for the input though, appreciate it.
:sad1:

 

[Nano sapiens]

I have a tank full of happy floridas and yumas and the only floridas I ever lost were yellow ( two polyps). They did fine for a few months then slowly shrank and were gone. I had mine in lower light and if I were to try yellows again I'd move them to higher light within a few weeks of introduction.

 

[el_pinguino]

That's weird. I have also noticed that the yellows are more prone to bleaching than other morphs.

Could it be that they rely less on light and more on direct feeding? Slow shrinking among corals is usually a sign of starvation.

 

[Whiterabbitrage]

Does anyone know if the yellows are found in deeper water? I was feeding it every other day, mysis and cyclopeez. It won't eat now. It was doing so well at first!! Sounds like Nano had my problem. I have mine in slightly brighter light than the other Rics. My thinking was it might need brighter light, being yellow. It looks like it comes from shallower water. Are yellows just not possible to keep? During researching I found a German site that said the wavelength of the lighting was the most important thing. It said it has o be 50/50