I have a nice piece of sunset montipora that the normally orange base color is turning brown. The polyps are still green and come out and it is next to a rainbow monti that does not seem to be loosing any color. It is under 14k 250de Phoenix and has been in the same spot for awhile. Is this something to worry about?
Sunset montipora
- Thread starter Tab964
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cbrownfish
Well-Known Member
Water quality issue or chemical warfare by a nearby coral.
jkburton1s
Member
usually when a bright colored coral starts losing thier color the need more light. i have had a few monti start losing color and i place them higher and they color back up. make sure you are doing your part on water quality as monti can be finiky sometimes. cosistancy and good husbandry
I agree. If you could provide us with some more information: Water parameters,
Calcium
alkalinity
magnesium
PH
temperature
and salinity this would help a lot.
Thanks, Frank
Sorry I should have listed them first. Cal 410, alk 10.8, ph 8.2, mg 1200-1250, trates -5, trites/ amon 0, temp 76-78 via chiller. I also have Kali drip 24/7. I am hoping it is just the bulb but it is in the upper 1/3 of a 24" deep tank. I have not noticed anything else suffering even the clams on the bed. It was near some bam bam palys.
cbrownfish
Well-Known Member
All corals are not created equal, so the "everything else is fine" argument is not really valid IMO. Water quality issues can take many forms and allelopathy is a big problem in a closed environment. Especially the dynamics between mature Zoa colonies and SPS.
Water changes and GAC (carbon) can help minimize the effects. It is also important to observe coral placement. When you see one coral looking marginal and an adjacent coral thriving, it is reasonable to consider that chemical warfare could be affecting the discolored specimen. Flow direction also plays a part, so look for offenders that may be "upstream" with a robust appearance. Moving corals to different locations is sometimes necessary.
Water changes and GAC (carbon) can help minimize the effects. It is also important to observe coral placement. When you see one coral looking marginal and an adjacent coral thriving, it is reasonable to consider that chemical warfare could be affecting the discolored specimen. Flow direction also plays a part, so look for offenders that may be "upstream" with a robust appearance. Moving corals to different locations is sometimes necessary.