Superman Monti

[kevlow]

I have a frag of superman Monti that is primarily red polyps visible. The blue base is lightly colored and completely covered over. Is this due to individual genetics of this piece or due to the lighting it was previously under? I have had this frag for about two weeks now. Sitting near by is a frag of Rainbow Monti that has a beautiful blue base much like I would hope for the Superman.
Does the Superman favor high, medium, or mild lighting? Also, can someone explain how it's appearance changes with each form of lighting?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I do not want to fall back on the " spend six months moving and observing method" if other reefers can point me in the right direction. Also if this is just genetics and placement will not change this particular frag's blue base, then I will place it and be content.

Thanks All,

kevin

 

[smichaels68]

IMO, two weeks is a pretty short time to determine how the frag will look in your tank. It may have looked better or worse in the tank you got it from, but only time will tell how it looks in your tank. I have a couple of different strains, and one seems to do much better in lower light (it sounds like yours, being covered in red polyps with the base barely visible - which I take as a sign of good health - good PE), the other has polyps that are more separated, still has very good PE, but the base is much more visible. The first one I mentioned is in low light, the second is a bit higher, but nowhere near the height of my acros and other high light corals. Keep in my your results may vary. Give it time to acclimate to your tank and see what happens. Good luck with it!

 

[kevlow]

smichaels68,

Thanks for the response. That is the info I was looking for. I will place this out towards the edge of the light. I have it down in the tank but still can move it out for alittle less light. The rainbow and red sunset appear to respond well to medium light that I had placed them all in. I was not sure that there were different strains or just different responses to lighting.
Thanks again,
kevin

 

[strout]

I have one also, I have moved it all over my tank, up, down, side to side and the results, my coral looks like yours and I have given up on getting it to color up like the coral companies show on their sites. Its growing great though, I guess thats a good thing.

 

[kevlow]

Strout,
This is really good stuff for me to know. I did not want to spend six months learning what you have already discovered. What is the best lighting you have found for your red Superman? did high light burn it or did low light fade and slow it? I appreciate hearing your experience.
Thanks,
kevin

 

[strout]

I have it half way down my tank 250w MH lights. It has Blue on it on the outer new growth edges.

 

[allsps40]

I have mine high up under 250w 20k.

 

[NewSchool04]

Mine is mid level under T5's. There are a lot of Superman monti's out there, some not so super. I think in the end it has a lot to do with what you start out with.

 

[kevlow]

NewSchool,
Wow! Great Job, Great Photo. That definately is not what mine looks like. I will see if I can get a photo up of my frag. The wife and kid have the IT skills in my house, not to mention the camera.

Do you have more photos already posted in a different thread? If you have more monties then I see in the pic, I would love to see them.
kevin

 

[Stanley-Reefer]

Just got a 1" splatter of this on the same rock as a 3.5" setosa at LFS for $99:eek2:

 

[Jake007]

I too have chased the holly grail on my superman. Up, down, side, low flow, high flow. Still mine had full polyp with almost no base showing. Any base that was showing was whitish. Mine is under 6 T5s individual reflectors about 12" down in the tank and the lights are 7" above the water and about a quarter in from the left side of the tank. I have great growth but no blue.

I fragged a 1" by 3" long strip off about 3 months ago. Around the same time I started using Coral Amino from Brightwell for a few weeks.

Now..... all of a sudden I have blue showing on the base. Not as strong as some of these photos but looks good.

Suggest med light, med-high flow, try some Coral Amino, and leave alone for awhile.

 

[aquavista99]

There are a lot of Superman monti's out there, some not so super. I think in the end it has a lot to do with what you start out with.

I agree with NewSchool04 :thumbsup: I obtained a colorful frag of the original Superman a while ago and it is one of the most colorful corals in my reef. I keep all my sps under 400watt (14K) halides so all my montipora corals are placed on the bottom of my reef.

 

[kevlow]

I agree with NewSchool04 :thumbsup: I obtained a colorful frag of the original Superman a while ago and it is one of the most colorful corals in my reef. I keep all my sps under 400watt (14K) halides so all my montipora corals are placed on the bottom of my reef.

Beautiful piece.

 

[kevlow]

I moved the frag from more direct lighting to more indirect lighting on the edge. The red polyps have shrunk back a bit. the blue is not as faded but it has along way to go. I just borrowed a par meter from the Tampa Bay Reef Club. I found that I moved it from Approx. 250 par to approx. 80 par. I will wait and see how it does. I have not seen growth yet while the Sunset and Rainbow are already spreading and encrusting. Hopefully, if the color improves with lower par, I will not have to sacrifice growth.
Also, props to TBRC for great member support.