Tubs blues....

[NanoReefWanabe]

my tubs are turning pink and white...?

what the heck?

i have had them a year now...i had them up 3/4 of the way under 150w mh they turned purple....i was told blues do better down lower so i moved them to the sand...now they are turning pink and white...

i moved them about 3 months ago...

what could be going on?

all SPS/LPS and other softies are doing really well, even all my other zoas...just not these....i have to say i have never been really impressed with them in my tank...but this is really disappointing..i guess it is possible i was sold fake tubs..since i bought them second hand and not from the source....but that aside what would make purple/blue zoas turn pink and white?

 

[chillman]

very odd. do you have any pics?

 

[toaster77]

mine aren't doing that well also, granted my frag is just a few polyps and might still be in "recovery" phase
.
everything else in my tank seems to be doing well, including other zoos.
i tried to move them into an area of low flow and light to see if that might help them recover.

anyone have tips for these guys?

 

[Skeptic_07]

my blues are high up in my tank about 2/3 the way up under my 150w 14K DE. They're growing well but they have turned more of a purple color. I bought a 10 polyp frag maybe 2-3 months ago and i now have a whole bunch of babies, 5 or 6 on the side that i can see. When i bought them, i put them on the sand for like a month and they didnt really grow at all but were always open and nice blue color. I then removed them from the plug and glued it to a flat rock and put it up high in the tank. They've been getting blased with light ever since and are growing pretty well, although the ones facing the light, getting direct light everyday, are turning a deep purple. I wonder if that is a bad sign or a good sign.. i dont know yet. They aren't closing up at all though so i guess thats good? I feel that these polyps can take alot of light.

 

[TomRep]

I have a frag I recieved about 2 months ago. When I got them, I put them right on my frag rack. At that time is was about 5-6" from the surface of the water, of center of a 250w XM 10k bulb. Over the past couple weeks I have been so busy working around the house that I didn't notice they were all closed up and getting covered in algea. The XM was switched out for a Reeflux 10k and I thought the lights might be too intense. So, I cleaned them off and moved them to lower light and still no better. Last week I pulled them out and cleaned them off again and threw them back on the frag rack, still under a 250w Reeflux 10k bulb. Within days they all opened up and started putting out some babies for me. Not sure what heppened with them, but they are happy now! Still bright blue even under the intense lighting.
tom

 

[DEEC77]

I've owned tubs blue forever under 2 different lighting conditions and they have never changed color. Are you sure they're tubs. I do know that a lot of blues change colors under different lighting conditions. Put them lower in the tank and just leave them for a while don't move them or touch them. Once they start opening up regularly- move them gradually up to maybe mid way depending on light. If they are tubs their color really shouldn't change except maybe a little lighter or brighter but always blue.

~Dee~

 

[Auntbeez]

I would have to question if they are Tubs also. I have had mine in different spots in the tank and they have always been a royal blue. I like them a little darker so keep the mother in the sand. I thought the higher light made them lighter, but I have not experienced this...always bright blue.

 

[baloutang]

I agree with Auntbeez. No matter where in the tank I move my Tubs the color remains pretty constant. My tank is 28" deep and they still have the deep royal blue color below as they do up nearer to the light.

Here's a pic of my colony near the top of my tank ~15" from 250w 14K MH.

And another pic of a frag at the bottom of my tank.

 

[Whisperer]

Do your blues have green bars in their skirts? The older polyps on mine do have green bars. Also, location in the tank does not affect my blues. In the pic below, I mixed some pinks beside the blues. Note the middle polyps (the older polyps) amongst the blues and see the green bars.

 

[Auntbeez]

Here are 2 pictures of mine. I don't have green in the skirts at all.
They are kept in the sand under T-5s

Frag is recovering, mother in back ground.

 

[NanoReefWanabe]

yeah i think i was taken for a ride on the sale of these....

they have never loked like any of the pictured ones...i will postpics tomorrow...

they dont seem to be dying or anything just losing all colour...bleaching if you will..

 

[DEEC77]

Okay now that you've determined that they are not tubs'. Have you tried putting them on the sand or in a shaded area? They may color up some. Some blues can be very tempermental.
Just make sure that once you put them somewhere leave them and don't fiddle with them for a while. Also, you don't mention your lighting? Lighting can definately affect the color- IMHO blues tend to stand out better under MH. Not saying that you can't get good blue color with other lighting just saying it easier to.

~Dee~