Brain Coral - Lost Red Coloration?

I have a small brain coral (green middle, red outside edge). It seems
to be thriving (very fleshy) but over the past 2 months the intensity
of the red coloration has dissapeared to almost none. The green is
still strong flouresent, but the red has changed to an almost
translucent white.

Anybody ever expereince this or have any suggestions?

How much light is it getting?
I have the same type in my aquarium, TG.
The red ones tend to prefer lower light levels that the others.
It sounds to me like yours has expelled its symbiotic algae from the red
area because of lighting issues?

When I had mine in too much light, it reacted badly though, by not expanding
very well in MH lighting.
I would think that if too much light were the case, then you would have seen
similar results.

Do you target feed your brain?

CW

"hobbes" wrote in message
ups.com...
I have a small brain coral (green middle, red outside edge). It seems
to be thriving (very fleshy) but over the past 2 months the intensity
of the red coloration has dissapeared to almost none. The green is
still strong flouresent, but the red has changed to an almost
translucent white.

Anybody ever expereince this or have any suggestions?

I have no target fed it... it was fine for the past year, until the
last 3 months. Besides the color, it seems very healthy - large,
fleshy, flowing, soft...

I moved it last night to a lower location to see if the lighting
affects it.

Also, someone mentioned iodine levels could affect the color - any
thoughts?

I do dose trace elements, which include iodine.
I also target feed mine since these guys are known for their voracious
appetite.
However, the need to target feed is based on your tank feeding habits and
methods.
I tested for iodine in my tank before I started dosing and had zero iodine.
Since I started dosing, the coralline algae has taken off big time..

Did you notice any stringy red "snot" in your tank as the color declined?

CW
"hobbes" wrote in message
oups.com...
I have no target fed it... it was fine for the past year, until the
last 3 months. Besides the color, it seems very healthy - large,
fleshy, flowing, soft...

I moved it last night to a lower location to see if the lighting
affects it.

Also, someone mentioned iodine levels could affect the color - any
thoughts?

Maybe they added artificial coloration to your coral... som dealers do
that!!

"hobbes" wrote in message
ups.com...
I have a small brain coral (green middle, red outside edge). It seems
to be thriving (very fleshy) but over the past 2 months the intensity
of the red coloration has dissapeared to almost none. The green is
still strong flouresent, but the red has changed to an almost
translucent white.

Anybody ever expereince this or have any suggestions?

Originally Posted by hobbes

I have a small brain coral (green middle, red outside edge). It seems
to be thriving (very fleshy) but over the past 2 months the intensity
of the red coloration has dissapeared to almost none. The green is
still strong flouresent, but the red has changed to an almost
translucent white.

Anybody ever expereince this or have any suggestions?

I purchased one about 5 weeks ago and I am seeing the same thing. It was a nice red and green color and opened up at nite. Now it is loosing its color and i rarely see it open. I have a 24 gal Aquapod with compact fluorescent system. I do the iodine feeding weekly and cycle 2gal of water every two weeks. I get good test strip readings every other week when i test. I talked to two local pet store fish experts today. One was not sure and the other was sure I had my lights on to long, I was running then about 12 hours and he told me to cut back to 8 hrs. He told me to try that first. If needed the next step would be to move it to a spot in the tank where there was less light. I will keep you posted.

No you don't need to reduce your lighting time frame, and
no you don't need to reduce the light intensity. I keep
brain corals under 400w mh lighting 12 plus hours a day.

Wayne Sallee
Wayne's Pets



2ManyFish wrote on 7/2/2006 10:30 PM:
hobbes Wrote:
I have a small brain coral (green middle, red outside edge). It seems
to be thriving (very fleshy) but over the past 2 months the intensity
of the red coloration has dissapeared to almost none. The green is
still strong flouresent, but the red has changed to an almost
translucent white.

Anybody ever expereince this or have any suggestions?

I purchased one about 5 weeks ago and I am seeing the same thing. It
was a nice red and green color and opened up at nite. Now it is loosing
its color and i rarely see it open. I have a 24 gal Aquapod with
compact fluorescent system. I do the iodine feeding weekly and cycle
2gal of water every two weeks. I get good test strip readings every
other week when i test. I talked to two local pet store fish experts
today. One was not sure and the other was sure I had my lights on to
long, I was running then about 12 hours and he told me to cut back to
8 hrs. He told me to try that first. If needed the next step would be
to move it to a spot in the tank where there was less light. I will
keep you posted.