staghorn lighting

[125reefer]

i started out 6 months ago with a little nubby staghorn i got from a fellow reefer for free. its brown. started out like this

and is now is in the same place as this picture, it is touching the top of the water and the rock on the left.

it was doing great under 250w halides i had. i recently got a 400w for the middle of my tank and the polyps are still out, but not nearly as much. its been about 4 days since i added the halide and i did do the screen technique with it for a few days. think i should leave it or will it get better... btw it is about 10" away from the bulb

 

[twon8]

you might want to keep the screen on for a few weeks. it will probably be fine.

 

[125reefer]

really, that long. ok, i actually used multipul layers of salt creepy glass. worked well.

 

[125reefer]

but does staghorn prefer less light than other sps do or is the extra light just shocking it a little.

 

[DRZL-sauras]

U sure its a stag? it looks like a digi to me

 

[atzak]

I was thinking the same, looks like montipora digitada. Can you get a closer pic?

 

[bogg]

Yeah looks like a digi, should'nt need very much light.

 

[125reefer]

i took a pic to a local aquaculturer that is very knowledgeable and deals mostly with sps and he ided it as a stag.

and maybe to help id it further, the branches "fuse" togeather very often.

 

[Cody Ray]

With the closer shot it does resemble a staghorn

 

[ClownReef®]

Its a deegee!!

 

[MCsaxmaster]

Yeah, much too fast an acclimation. Acclimation to brighter light should take 4 weeks minimum, not a few days. It takes time. It doesn't matter what sort of coral we're discussing either (this one looks like a digitate Montipora sp., maybe M. digitata in fact ) all corals need this amount of time. This coral should eventually do fine with that level of light.

cj

 

[MCsaxmaster]

p.s. Staghorn referes to just a general growth form. Saying a coral is a 'staghorn' is a bit like saying a plant is a 'tree'

 

[MiddletonMark]

Agree with Chris.
Slow is rarely bad in this hobby - we're building our tanks for their amazing growth a year from now ... IMO, slowing down won't hurt.

Agree also on the ID of this as a Montipora species.

 

[M. Python]

It is a staghorn, I agree in the first pick it looks like a montipora but in the later picks it is definitely an acropora, what exact species I have no idea. I thought the same thing when I saw the first pick. The picks all show some growth also, it looks like it is doing well. It will adjust over time to the new lighting, if you want you can move it down on your rock work.