Red Planet

[Billabong]

I bought a small frag of this about 3 months ago and I stuck it pretty high in the water to get plenty of light. But since then it has lost most of its color and has no polyp extension. it's encrusting on the rock but it's just doesn't look the way I was expecting.

Where do you have your red planets? Up high or lower?

 

[allsps40]

Pics would help. RP is known to loose its green and changes to a white with red under higher light. The no PE has me concerned, RP normally had good PE.

 

[Doobze]

Need more specific details, what kind of lights, whatre your water params, what other kind of coral do you have and how're they doing, what's your general system set up etc

 

[collie man]

I just got one too but I placed it on the sand bed. 20 inch tall tank with 150 mh 20k and 2xblue + (24 watt) id like to also know a good placement.

 

[israel.kendall]

Mine is doing well about 8" from 4x54wt5.

 

[Finland]

I had a RP for over a year with no pe, no growth, and turned a solid brown. Moved it all over the tank with no change. Then I discovered I had red bugs, treated for that, and it is night and day different. PE, colorong up and growth. Check for pests.

 

[Billabong]

Wow, this really wasn’t what I was expecting as far as responses, allow me to give some tank parameter:
Salinity: 1.025
PH: 8.1-8.3 (Daily Swing) (ACIII Graph)
Temp: 78.5-80.1 (Daily Swing) (ACIII Graph)
Alk: 8-9 (Usually stays at 9)
Calc: 450
Mag: 1420
P04: 0
N03: 0 (Vodka)
I have an SPS dominant 125 gallon tank, a bubble magus that doses (BRS) alk, calc 24 times a day and vodka twice a day, I also dose 1 drop daily of lugols. My lights are seven 80W T5’s:
Front
ATI True actinic
ATI Blue plus
ATI Purple plus
ATI Blue plus
ATI Aqua blue special
ATI Blue plus
ATI True actinic
I have about 30 sps corals ranging from echinatas, torts, caps, acro’s to digi’s, all are thriving, most are considered small colonies and some are still frags. The only one that isn’t doing so well is the red planet, I’ve had it for about 4 months, it’s establishing a base and spreading with no color, but I fear that it’s too high in the tank. When I got it, it was red with great PE, now the polyps are very very tiny and the frag is now sort of light brown, I have pulled it out and inspected it with a magnifying glass with no sign of red bugs, I will probably move it from where it is to a lower spot and when I do it I will check again for red bugs. I’d hate to treat with interceptor when there’s no need for it. I fear that I put it too high in the tank, but that is just a guess. So what does the experts say, and where do you have yours.

Any input? Thanks.
Jeff

 

[JG1]

I had a RP for over a year with no pe, no growth, and turned a solid brown. Moved it all over the tank with no change. Then I discovered I had red bugs, treated for that, and it is night and day different. PE, colorong up and growth. Check for pests.

Are you able to visibly see the red bugs on the coral if you look closely?

 

[msp307]

I have 2 ped planets and an aquarium city red due the same thing for 1year I then started feeding my tank more and adding vitamins and now they are coloring up and have great PE. I have them in high flow mid level lighting in the tank. I have a 100 gal with 400 wt radium on coral vue ballast. Also once I got my GEO 612 things really turned around for the best.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

Are you able to visibly see the red bugs on the coral if you look closely?

You have to use a magnifying glass and really look for them, they are hard to see with the naked eye. Do a google search of "acropora red bugs" and you'll see how small they are.

 

[Finland]

Are you able to visibly see the red bugs on the coral if you look closely?

I had to use a magnifying glass to see them. They are tiny.

 

[Grant W]

Did you ever dip the piece for pests. I would try Melafix and see if anything come off of it.

 

[roberto_lopes]

Red planet needs no high light. I have placed mine where the measures are between 250 and 300 PAR under my aquaillumination fixture and coloring gets better and better.

Look how is it now.

 

[curlykid]

mine doesn't look like a red planet anymore, idk what happened, but i have since moved it up to the top of the tank with high light and moderate flow. i also have a small fragment in high flow, moderate light.

 

[cnaegler]

I have mine about 1/3rd of the way up from the bottom under 8 x 54watt T-5's. It has a green base with red tips. But, it's just started shooting out tips.

 

[wizardx322]

sounds like your rp got shocked from the lighting or maybe just too high.

did you alcimate the coral to your light originaly? always start low and then move up slowly

i have mine half way under 250 mh on my 90 gal and have some green and the red with red polyps.


with red planet i hear to get more green you need it in lower lighting and more red in higher lighting.

 

[sanchoy]

RP is one of my favorite corals. Needs good flow, moderately high light.. Too much white and it turns white, with bleached polyps.

 

[Billabong]

I dip everything in revive and I have 2 mp40s as well as 2 maxijet sureflow conversions so flow isn't an issue.

I'm going to take it out and redip, but before I do I will look for red bugs.

 

[allsps40]

My RP gets about 200-250 PAR. As I said it is a nice red with green, but it browned out and had no PE for about a month when I got it. It took some time to get happy. RP can pretty much take any light you give it, within reason of coarse. Here are some pics of my RP as it browned out and colored back up.
when I got it

browned

colored back up