Big SPS colony white in the valley

kirinreef

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 16, 2019
Messages
96
Reaction score
120
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Is it normal for a big sps colony to turn white in the valleys? Even whiter than the under side.
Is it flow or light?

PXL_20210922_034247770.MP.jpg
 

lemonade

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 9, 2020
Messages
702
Reaction score
1,590
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
It's not normal. Kind of hard to tell what's going on in the pic. Could be from flatworms, could be that not enough flow is getting to those areas and detritus has settled causing infection/TN. How quickly has it happened?
 
OP
OP
kirinreef

kirinreef

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 16, 2019
Messages
96
Reaction score
120
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
It's not normal. Kind of hard to tell what's going on in the pic. Could be from flatworms, could be that not enough flow is getting to those areas and detritus has settled causing infection/TN. How quickly has it happened?
Slowly happening, I don't see any signs of flatworms, and no detritus settling.
 
OP
OP
kirinreef

kirinreef

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 16, 2019
Messages
96
Reaction score
120
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Added a few new pics, taken when lights off with a spotlight
 

Attachments

  • DSC00306r2r.jpg
    DSC00306r2r.jpg
    121.2 KB · Views: 139
  • DSC00308r2r.jpg
    DSC00308r2r.jpg
    133.4 KB · Views: 104
  • DSC00320r2r.jpg
    DSC00320r2r.jpg
    131.2 KB · Views: 127

homer1475

Figuring out the hobby one coral at a time.
View Badges
Joined
Apr 24, 2018
Messages
11,591
Reaction score
18,492
Location
Way upstate NY
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Shading?

I have a rather large colony of stylophora(sp?), it looks exactly like the one you posted. Everything else in my tank is fine. It's just the stylo has turned white in the center. The only exception from yours to mine, mine is white, but it still has polyps and they are also white.

The larger it gets, the more the center turns white.
 

ScottB

7500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 5, 2018
Messages
7,869
Reaction score
12,152
Location
Fairfield County, CT
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Great pics. I have experienced some of this in my larger colonies but then not on others in similar flow and light settings. In one case, it was definitely AEFW so I would rule that out first. Next would be flow which can be a real problem once multiple colonies start choking out the flow.
 
OP
OP
kirinreef

kirinreef

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 16, 2019
Messages
96
Reaction score
120
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
This is a shot from underside of the colony, which is very clean, healthy and doesn't have bit marks from AEFWs.
So I think I can rollout the flatworms?
 

Attachments

  • PXL_20210922_152026718.jpg
    PXL_20210922_152026718.jpg
    168.4 KB · Views: 137

ScottB

7500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 5, 2018
Messages
7,869
Reaction score
12,152
Location
Fairfield County, CT
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
This is a shot from underside of the colony, which is very clean, healthy and doesn't have bit marks from AEFWs.
So I think I can rollout the flatworms?
Agreed. They would've started there eating flesh and laying eggs. Looks clean to me. Got some decent flow over the top of the colony?
 
OP
OP
kirinreef

kirinreef

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 16, 2019
Messages
96
Reaction score
120
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Agreed. They would've started there eating flesh and laying eggs. Looks clean to me. Got some decent flow over the top of the colony?
I have a power head just sweeping flows over top of the colony, I guess I will add a another one just pointing at it.
 

Eagle_Steve

Grandpa of Cronies
View Badges
Joined
Jan 30, 2018
Messages
11,564
Reaction score
60,953
Location
Tennessee
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Do you by chance have a pair of damsels or any clown gobies? I ask as my springerii did that to a large colony to lay eggs in. The just mowed down a section and that was that lol. Removed them, as they were just there to be there and not used for what most people use them for, AEFW. everything grew over in a month or 2 and has been fine since.

Clown goby, is only as they have been known to eat sps polyps.

Just throwing some other ideas out there.
 
OP
OP
kirinreef

kirinreef

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 16, 2019
Messages
96
Reaction score
120
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Do you by chance have a pair of damsels or any clown gobies? I ask as my springerii did that to a large colony to lay eggs in. The just mowed down a section and that was that lol. Removed them, as they were just there to be there and not used for what most people use them for, AEFW. everything grew over in a month or 2 and has been fine since.

Clown goby, is only as they have been known to eat sps polyps.

Just throwing some other ideas out there.
Thanks. Very interesting, I don't have any damsel or clown gobies, all my fishes are well known reef safe fish.
 

jda

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 25, 2013
Messages
14,309
Reaction score
22,095
Location
Boulder, CO
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
It can be both. Reflected light helps a lot, so if you have this already, then look to flow. If you don't have reflected light, then get some... and in the middle more than the sides. Lots of flow from a pump might not do it - I like to have a Tunze Wavebox in my tanks since they wash the entire water column back and forth ever few seconds get into the center of colonies when even lots of MPs, Gyres and Tunze Flow pumps can just go around them. I like to have both when stuff gets to colony sized.

People have seen me post before that colonies are different than frags - totally different animals. I don't mean the teen moms with 6 branches that people think are colonies anymore, but bonafide colonies like what you posted. Most probably don't even know how to help. You are going to get lighter color in the valley - no way around this - but white is a problem for me.
 

Aquatic acrobat in your aquarium: Have you ever kept an eel?

  • I currently keep an eel in my tank.

    Votes: 29 14.4%
  • I have kept an eel in my tank in the past.

    Votes: 34 16.8%
  • I have not kept an eel in my tank, but I hope to in the future.

    Votes: 36 17.8%
  • I have no plans to keep an eel.

    Votes: 100 49.5%
  • Other.

    Votes: 3 1.5%
Back
Top