Bocaswim,
I do supply MLD(if this is where you got it from) up in Deerfield with different morphs of Montiporas along with other SPS corals. If you just got it within the last week or two then I can confirm that it is the same coral that we are discussing in the thread and I sent to Steve. It is not one of my other color morphs. I have not given them any of the others recently.
As you stated, it had lost color(understatement). I was there about a week ago and that frag, along with a red montipora cap. frag which had been in the 55 gal reef that is in the front of the store were moved to their main coral system. The 55 gal reef was torn down because everything was starting to go down hill. You can probably still distinguish the difference in the polypââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s color and the surrounding tissue but maybe not (the corals where not happy in that system). They did begin to pickup some color after they moved them to their main coral system, I noticed it specially in the red cap. This shows how bad that 55 gal system was doing since typically after a week or two the corals that I deliver loose a significant amount of color in the main coral system and here they where gaining color after they moved them. I donââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t think that the MH bulbs or fluorescents have ever been replaced in that system.
All of the frags of that coral are grown under VHO half white and half actinics. I prefer the color under that combination. I have also placed it under 10k MH and got really nice coloration too, but different. Under VHO the purple is more towards the red/pink. Under 10ks itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s more a purple blue.
Hope this helps. I still would like to take you up on your invitation from a while back to visit you and your system. So little timeââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦
Rafael
