Acan Update

[Sea MunnKey]

I know for a fact that some Acans tend to change their colours depending on lights(MH, T5 or PC) and water flow.... but yours seem pretty drastic!!
RandyO did mentioned this before .... I'll try to get him onboard to answer this loss of colours.

Paul

 

[THE BEAUT]

Yeah kinda sad. Def not buying any more. Hopefully this is not the norm. Hope to see some other progression shots from other people. Really strange as most of my corals have great color.

 

[RandyO]

What I have noticed is that many of the orange color in the Aussie Acans do not like a lot of light. The orange seems to be what makes some of them so desirable. If you notice in peoples pic's these Acans with orange in them, most of the time only a few polyps have that orange coral, and they are usually side or end polyps that did not get as much light as the main colony. I've noticed E-tailers tend to show those couple of polyps in their close up pic's, but then when you see the whole colony, it's not as evident.

Anyway, if your Acans have that color in them, it's best to keep them under lower lighting. I thought maybe temperature was playing a role in making these loose color, but since I started collecting them in May, all of my Aussie Acans have been in water temps that had a daily range of 78F to 83F, and on really hot days 84F. This swing has made many other corals in the same system unhappy, yet the Aussie Acans I have look great. I have noticed a slight color change, but nothing like what others are experiencing. I'll have to get some updated pictures of my collection and compare them to older pics.

As for pink colors, I've noticed more lighting tends to bring out a more intense pink. I've experimented with one colony, cutting it in half, and keeping one half in almost complete shade, and the other was put under 400w halides in a shallow tank. The piece that was in the shade stayed the same color as when it came in. A light purplish. The other piece turned bright hot pink. It took about a month to color up.

So in my opinion, lighting has a lot to do with why these Acans are changing. They seem to look best under bluer lighting. And the blue 460nm pc bulbs make them really glow.
One other thing I do with my Acans is feed them regularly. Not sure if this helps them keep their color, but I bet it helps them grow, and look puffy. Some of the growth I've seen on my pieces I got in May is Just amazing.

 

[MarvinsReef]

Randy.. thanks for the input.. I know it's greatly appreciated... :)

I'm looking forward to seeing the updated pics... don't keep us waiting for too long... :hammer:

 

[greystreet41]

I haven't noticed quite the orange issue Randy points out, but definitely the reds turn pink under more intense lighting. I have a few colonies that have completely bleached out from a t5 fixture that were originally very dark colors. I'll have to get some new pics posted, too.
Also,
One of my tanks has very, very limited flow and the polyps are huge in comparison to my other tanks with more flow. I don't know that it is a good thing or bad thing.

BEAUT, just saw your pics. I've also noticed that on larger rainbow colonies the newer polyps on the edges that get less light show more colors than the older polyps in the middle of the colony. This is the case with 3-4 I have.

 

[THE BEAUT]

Thanks Randy for the info. I dont have a problem with growth or overall health. Almost all have produced numerous new polyps. I feed them regularly.I am going to move a couple of frags into shady areas and see what happens. Obviously this will take some time to see any effects.

 

[greystreet41]

Randy,
are you saying you're seeing the oranges dull under more intense lighting? Just trying to get a better visual.
thanks

 

[MarvinsReef]

thanks for your input as well Casey.. now, let's some photos.. :hammer:

looking forward to figuring out how to keep the colors more vibrant on these corals with everybody's help... :)

 

[MarvinsReef]

here are my contributions... :)

Aussie 1

07-08-07

07-17-07

07-24-07

08-05-07

08-28-07

09-11-07

 

[MarvinsReef]

Aussie 2

07-08-07

08-05-07

09-11-07

 

[MarvinsReef]

Aussie 3

07-24-07

09-11-07

 

[MarvinsReef]

Aussie 4

07-27-07

08-05-07

08-28-07

09-11-07

09-11-07 top down

 

[dieselab]

Looks like the colors got darker. Could it be that these new Aussie corals coming in are collected in deeper waters?

 

[THE BEAUT]

Man just like mine, all the green and orange-gone. Wow Marvin that is dramatic. I hope someone out there has had some good results and will share there pics.

 

[MarvinsReef]

here's another one that I think will get better.. :)

 

[I-K@ndY]

Nice marv ... wish mine was colonies like that :D

 

[MarvinsReef]

Nice marv ... wish mine was colonies like that :D

Thanks Steve.. :)

atleast yours hold their colors.. :hammer:

 

[I-K@ndY]

Thanks Steve.. :)

atleast yours hold their colors.. :hammer:

T5's baby :hammer:

 

[MarvinsReef]

T5's baby :hammer:

I've been in the process of getting (2) 24w T5 for actinics for the longest time.. I'm ordering them tomorrow!!! :hammer:

 

[Deepwater]

Before (beginning of the summer )

Now