Pocillopora bleaching?

[revance]

I got a frag of pocillopora about 3 weeks ago and it started turning white. It still has great polyp extension and the polyps still have green tips, but the rest is now white.

It is about 16-18" below a 250w Phoenix 14k DE lamp
ammonia, nitrite, nitrate = 0 (nitrate is actually about 0.1)
SG: 1.025
Dont remember what calcium and alk are, they were a tad low.
Temp stable at 79 degrees

Any ideas?

 

[revance]

Anyone????


Bump.

 

[PUGroyale]

Based on it's placement and your lighting lighting I doubt it's bleaching from that. I've got a tri-color Pocci, green/yellow base, pink tips, flouro green polyps... Anytime my alk drops below 7dKH those pink tips disappear and go yellow/white within a day or two at the most. [It's like my low alk alarm system :lol2:] That would be my guess... Low Alk. hth

 

[revance]

I'll double check my alk and see if that is it. So does yours make a comeback when your alk is back up?

As I said, the polyps are still fully extending, so it doesn't appear to be on the verge of dying or anything.

 

[PUGroyale]

It always colors back up within a week or so... just not as quik as it lightens up. As long as you catch it before the alk gets dangerously low or stays low for a period, the only issue IME has been lightening colors.

 

[GatorReefman]

how was your acclimation to your lights? I have both pink and green pocci's under 250watts of SE 10K MHs and they are doing great. I believe DE's are alot more intense and probably require more careful acclimating.

 

[revance]

I drip acclimated it for quite a while. However I didn't do much for acclimation to the lighting. It was fine for many weeks so I doubt it is the lighting intensity. Perhaps the photoperiod... the lights are usually on for about 11hrs. I have a timer turn them on at noon, but I turn them off manually at night, so it fluctuates a bit.

I checked the alkalinity and calcium again and found this...

Alk: 8.3dKH (3mEq/L)
Calcium: 320

Not sure if that is the problem, but I need to get that calcium up.

 

[college429]

I've been keeping picillopora for years.
How are you feeding?
Sounds like it is the transition to your tank. It is not accustomed to your lights or feeding schedule (nitrogen levels may be too low).
I would suggest you target feed it.

 

[revance]

Thanks college429, I will give that a shot. I'm not too good about feeding that tank. I will dump some phyto in there when I get home tonight.

 

[college429]

Pocillopora won't eat much, if any, phyto.
If your not too good about feeding. This is probably the problem. Most SPS need to feed to keep their color. Having a good population of fish that you feed would help.
My pocillopora readily eat things like oyster eggs, copepods and cyclop-eeze. I can actually see cyclops-eeze inside their polyps after feeding. I like the frozen kind. I thaw some out. Mix with some tank water and spray the coral with a turkey baster or similar device.

 

[revance]

thanks for the advice!