Cyphastrea, bleaching? Just adapting?

[Daniel Berazadi]

I have read a lot about it. Most say cyphastrea does not require strong light, and thus, I added my new cyphastrea to a little crevice where most of the light comes from reflections after a week at the bottom of the tank in a corner.
BUT! lately, I have noticed that the parts of the coral exposed to this reflected light are paler than the rest. Is this bleaching though? I am uploading some poor images, but I hope it illustrates what I mean.

Because I have the RED Sea 90 lights, which are LED (not powered at max), I was afraid of putting the coral in complete shade as I have heard LED lights produce too dark shadows, and so there it is.

Now, I have also heard that cyphastrea can be a bit of a drama queen and that the best course of action is to do nothing and let it acclimate itself. Is this correct though? Or should I move it slightly until it's a bit more covered from the light?

Thanks to you all in advance.

 

[exnisstech]

Tagging along. Looks different than any of the 3 Cyphastrea I have. Mine are all encrusting. I didn't know that there was a vertical growing "stick" type

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

low light still needs light, the coral is very shaded, and you mention the main light is reflective light, which I understand to mean no direct light. I would move it away from the rocks so it gets some direct light on it. It also needs flow.

Are you sure its cyphastrea?

 

[Daniel Berazadi]

low light still needs light, the coral is very shaded, and you mention the main light is reflective light, which I understand to mean no direct light. I would move it away from the rocks so it gets some direct light on it. It also needs flow.

Are you sure its cyphastrea?

Yes! It is a branching genus, and in the European trade is not as uncommon.

Yes, the strong light you see in the picture is all light reflected from the glass, is not the light directly hitting it.
So you suspect that the pale area is not bleaching due to too much light then?

 

[Dburr1014]

Tagging along. Looks different than any of the 3 Cyphastrea I have. Mine are all encrusting. I didn't know that there was a vertical growing "stick" type

You are correct.

I'm, so I thought. OP says it's not common here?? Need to do some digging. It really doesn't look like a cyphastrea.

 

[Dburr1014]

Yes! It is a branching genus, and in the European trade is not as uncommon.

Yes, the strong light you see in the picture is all light reflected from the glass, is not the light directly hitting it.
So you suspect that the pale area is not bleaching due to too much light then?

Where did you get it? Is there a link to who sold it?

Edit:found it

Vivid's Branching Cyphastrea Decadia Coral

How to Car for Vivid's Branching Cyphastrea Decadia Coral written by Dave Burr Vivid's Branching Cyphastrea Decadia Coral is easy to keep and grows well in most reef aquariums. They are a great choice for adding a splash of color to lower flow, lower light areas of your reef aquarium. Placement...

vividaquariums.com

I think it needs more light. If it's shaded, it's not getting enough. It needs direct light, just a lower amount to get the colors. IMO. I have an encrusting one I got from a fellow reefer, he had it high I put it low. Mine turned blue, it was green when I got it.

 

[Daniel Berazadi]

Where did you get it? Is there a link to who sold it?

Edit:found it

Vivid's Branching Cyphastrea Decadia Coral

How to Car for Vivid's Branching Cyphastrea Decadia Coral written by Dave Burr Vivid's Branching Cyphastrea Decadia Coral is easy to keep and grows well in most reef aquariums. They are a great choice for adding a splash of color to lower flow, lower light areas of your reef aquarium. Placement...

vividaquariums.com

I think it needs more light. If it's shaded, it's not getting enough. It needs direct light, just a lower amount to get the colors. IMO. I have an encrusting one I got from a fellow reefer, he had it high I put it low. Mine turned blue, it was green when I got it.

I bought it on a Spanish online store, here you go:

LPS archivos - Tienda Hooked on Reef

tienda.hookedonreef.es

Okay, so when they say it needs little light they just mean not to put it directly under the lights in the upper area then?
All right, I shall move it slightly so it gets more light!

 

[mtraylor]

That is branching cyphastrea. It likes light. I have grown this piece and other branching several times. The more par you put it under the lighter the pigment. Have played with it from the sand bed to the mid upper portions of tank. Grows well and is a tank. Literally. It doesn't frag easy. Have to use big wire cutters when I have fragged in past.

Get under good light. It likes 300 par all day long. You can get away with less, just depends on what color you like it to be. Less par it will get darker

 

[Krak-A-Pat]

Old thread but here I am! I just bought one a few weeks ago. branching as well. There is so much mixed info for Cyphastrea out there. I had mine low in the tank and in low flow... started bleaching or washing out quickly. thought it was too much light so I moved it into a darker spot. then found that the branching variety likes higher light and higher flow... so now its at the "top" of my tank.. lets see what happens... How did yours fair out in the end?