Hello everyone! I just would like to pick your brains, if possible.
I obtained a tiny, scraggly, mossy Seriatopora from an about two months ago (for free as a "throw-in" with another coral). I cleaned it and it has been growing quite well. It has been getting bigger, branchier, and has lots of little purplish tips that seem to grow by the day. The algae is gone from the dead bits and overall it looks great. The tissue all looks good and it puts its tiny polyps out all the time.
The only problem is that some of the top is almost white. The top part (facing the light) tends to grow whitish, while the underside has more of a yellowish/greenish/purplish hue. All the new growth has purple tips, even in the white area. The underside grows new tissue with color.
Is my light too bright? It's under Kessil AP700s. I moved it to a shaded area about 2-3 weeks ago, when I noticed that the white seemed to be growing with the coral, and it is still growing quite well, but it continues to be white in certain spots. Was this damage from before I got it? Will it recover the zooxanthellae it appears to be losing as long as it is in less light? I don't expect the tips to be fully colonized with zooxanthellae at the pace it is growing (hence the purplish), but the established bits shouldn't be white, right?
No one else in the tank is bleached and everyone grows rapidly. A browned-out monti frag I rescued at the same time is coloring up well and branching out/encrusting things. The other montis and pocilloporas in there grow well. Calcium levels are good. Small water changes every couple of days. Parameters are good (no ammonia, nitrite, etc.), but it is a well-fed tank.
Any ideas? I thought these guys liked a lot of light? I tried to acclimate it light-wise ("started from the bottom, now we're here"), but maybe just the shock of going from a poorly lit frag tank to my bright tank?
Thanks,
- Morgan
I obtained a tiny, scraggly, mossy Seriatopora from an about two months ago (for free as a "throw-in" with another coral). I cleaned it and it has been growing quite well. It has been getting bigger, branchier, and has lots of little purplish tips that seem to grow by the day. The algae is gone from the dead bits and overall it looks great. The tissue all looks good and it puts its tiny polyps out all the time.
The only problem is that some of the top is almost white. The top part (facing the light) tends to grow whitish, while the underside has more of a yellowish/greenish/purplish hue. All the new growth has purple tips, even in the white area. The underside grows new tissue with color.
Is my light too bright? It's under Kessil AP700s. I moved it to a shaded area about 2-3 weeks ago, when I noticed that the white seemed to be growing with the coral, and it is still growing quite well, but it continues to be white in certain spots. Was this damage from before I got it? Will it recover the zooxanthellae it appears to be losing as long as it is in less light? I don't expect the tips to be fully colonized with zooxanthellae at the pace it is growing (hence the purplish), but the established bits shouldn't be white, right?
No one else in the tank is bleached and everyone grows rapidly. A browned-out monti frag I rescued at the same time is coloring up well and branching out/encrusting things. The other montis and pocilloporas in there grow well. Calcium levels are good. Small water changes every couple of days. Parameters are good (no ammonia, nitrite, etc.), but it is a well-fed tank.
Any ideas? I thought these guys liked a lot of light? I tried to acclimate it light-wise ("started from the bottom, now we're here"), but maybe just the shock of going from a poorly lit frag tank to my bright tank?
Thanks,
- Morgan
