Superman polyps are turning brown

[MJAnderson]

I have a 1.5" piece of Superman Monti I got about 6 weeks ago. The polyps are starting to brown from the edges toward the center. The coral itself is still blue. Is this a sign of something? I know that corals browning is a sign of too little light, but is that the same for polyps? It's sitting about 6" under my lights.

 

[Racenrich]

FWIW....try lowering it in the tank....you'll be suprised how much color you get from some corals....the SM also like LOTS OF CURRENT!

 

[MJAnderson]

That's one of the reasons it's up higher...its sitting about 4" from the end of a powerhead.

I'll give it a try though. Thanks for the advice. Oh and I'm still thinking of drilling holes in my floor for a basement sump like yours. When I first got my tank I talked to you about it but was too chicken to do so. =)

 

[slojmn]

Is it the real deal superman?? If so I'd guess PO4's and/or lighting. I had a coral with pink polyps up high and the polyps turned a burnt orange/brownish color. Since moving it to the bottom of the tank the polyps are slowly coming back to a more pink color.
If it is not the real deal it could be the color change that many of the wild "superman montis" do once they are in our tanks.

 

[raynist]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8464815#post8464815 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MJAnderson
That's one of the reasons it's up higher...its sitting about 4" from the end of a powerhead.

I'll give it a try though. Thanks for the advice. Oh and I'm still thinking of drilling holes in my floor for a basement sump like yours. When I first got my tank I talked to you about it but was too chicken to do so. =)

Did you get this at the swap in Columbus?

 

[MJAnderson]

I got it from SPStoner (Tony), so I trust the source.

Slojmn, that's pretty much exactly what it's doing. I'll move it down a bit.

 

[slojmn]

I'd trust that source as well . Must be a nice piece. Good luck with it lower.

 

[SPStoner]

Thanks for the kind words, guys.


I have had this same thing happen a couple times with some of my Superman colonies. I have never kept them under low light for any extended periods. They are about 8 inches or so below the water surface, with a 400W 20K XM bulb about 8 inches above that. I wouldn't worry about too much light with this coral. If so, you would notice the blue base turning white.
I have noticed that fluctuations in alkalinity will cause this in several of my Montipora Danae varieties. Even going from too low to good alk, the swings seem to trigger this browning of the polyps. I recently went through a calcium reactor change, and in the process of getting the new one dialed in, I had some pretty massive fluctuations in alk and noticed this same thing happen. Once this was resolved, they colored back up in just 10 days or so. Also noticed this from temperature fluctuations and spikes, and from excessive phosphates.

Hope that helps!


Tony

 

[jdieck]

Also note that if you have a heavy bioload of fish (or poor skimming), the suspended matter that feeds the Monty may also motivate a change in coloration.

 

[MJAnderson]

Thanks Tony,

Alk would be a likely culprit. I was messing with my kalk topoff for 2 weeks trying to get PH stable and my ALK was within acceptable ranges, but it was swinging up and down. Things are stable now so hopefully I'll see color come back