Tips of coral are white! Is it growing?

[Tava176]

hello all!

The tips of my coral are white. Is it growing or do I ahve an issue?

Here is a pic.

Here are my water peramiters

PH 8.4
Ammonia, Nitrate, nitrite all 0
Phos 0.1
KH 9
Alk 3.6
CA 420
80 degrees
12 hours of URI VHO lighting (2 super actininc, 2 50/50 actinic white. and 4 hours of moonlight.

Any ideas what is going on?

Thanks for the help!
Have coral about 5 inches from lights.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

new growth on Montipora digitata is white

 

[MiddletonMark]

What Gary said ... looks like new branches.

 

[SuperNerd]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6494621#post6494621 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Gary Majchrzak
new growth on Montipora digitata is white

Then why does this (Monti?) one have purple tips/growth?

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=750547

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

It doesn't look like the coral in your link has new growth, supernerd.

 

[MiddletonMark]

Supernerd - I've had a few Montiporas that have colored skeleton ... and in those cases, the growth tips were colored.

In my `purple monti' [brown polyp digitata w/ purple skeleton] the only way to get purple was on the growth tips. [or blasting the thing with huge light] ... but on that variety the growing tips were bright purple ... nicest part of the coral.

Reminded me of Acropora, where some varieties have intensely-colored growth tips ... and some purest white.

 

[BillnJennh]

I was about to ask this very same question as I have some very new frags of M. digi and a seriatopora that have started getting these white tips, also. I was afraid of necrosis, but I see now that it's just growing.

One of the montis was brown when it arrived, but it's coloring up into a nice green color. Another was brown, but it hasn't changed at all in color. Should I expect it to staty brown?

 

[GMGQ]

Calcium skeletons are White before any polyps grow on them.