Acro tip bleaching

[20gallonreefer000]

I picked up 4 acro frags last week, 3 are doing great but my Rainbow Loom appears to have bleaching tips and also has no polyps extension. I haven't had any swings in parameters and no changes in light or flow.

20 Gallon
1.5 years old
bi weekly - monthly water changes
Salinity: 1.025
Temp: 78
KH: 10
Calcium: 450
Magnesium: 1400
Nitrate: 10
Phosphate: 1(yes I know it's very high)

I have 1 AI prime 16hd at max power and have good flow
What could be causing this coral to bleach while the others do well?(There also appears to be some type of brown mass in bleached polyp)

 

[tbrown]

Those look like possibly growth tips rather than bleaching. Nice looking Acro!

 

[20gallonreefer000]

Those look like possibly growth tips rather than bleaching. Nice looking Acro!

2 questions, wouldn't the acro encrust before sending out new growth up top?(could be wrong, just my experience) and what could the brown mass in the whitest tip be? Thanks for your response :)

 

[tbrown]

2 questions, wouldn't the acro encrust before sending out new growth up top?(could be wrong, just my experience) and what could the brown mass in the whitest tip be? Thanks for your response :)

I've seen both from Acros - some encrust a LOT before starting new vertical growth, some don't. My Acroberry never really encrusted. It grew more horizontally than vertically - likely it was a tabling Acropora variety. The growth tips had different colored polyps as well.

My Pink Cadillac was completely different. It wanted to encrust and seemed to never want to go vertical, just encrust with little nubs everywhere.

 

[20gallonreefer000]

I've seen both from Acros - some encrust a LOT before starting new vertical growth, some don't. My Acroberry never really encrusted. It grew more horizontally than vertically - likely it was a tabling Acropora variety. The growth tips had different colored polyps as well.

My Pink Cadillac was completely different. It wanted to encrust and seemed to never want to go vertical, just encrust with little nubs everywhere.

Maybe I was just overthinking it, I appreciate your help a lot.

 

[tbrown]

Maybe I was just overthinking it, I appreciate your help a lot.

It's always good to ask for a second opinion when we see something out of the usual. I'm also not an acro pro so someone else may come in here and tell me I'm wrong.

 

[JonoH]

It does look like growth tips - if it hasnt been in for long, then it may just slow its growth at the top and start to base out also.

I find my new acro's do this, they have growth at the top from where they were previously, but once glued to rock, will base out over the glue onto the rock also (doesnt stop the growth at the top, just slows it down)

 

[Red_Beard]

3rd'ed looks like new growth, i too have had them grow verticaland neverwant to encrust. And the other way round. Always keep an eye especially on new additions though, and if it gets whiter without getting bigger then more investigation is warranted.