PC Rainbow Color

goldenhurricane2 · Jul 8, 2018

I’ve got a small colony of PC Rainbow... it’s grown out from a small frag. It’s growing great, but it’s barely got any color... just a hint of light pink, but nothing else.

Color in my other hard corals are normal... montis are bright, other acropora have great color, but for some reason I can’t get this PC Rainbow to color up!

Any ideas?

Bmasculine · Jul 8, 2018

I have the exact same problem mine is brown with a red tint lol. But right next to it is a pink lemonade that looks great. I’m probably not much help as this is my first real try with sps but I’ll be following.

tdileo · Jul 8, 2018

Mine actually looked better in lower light, like 120 PAR in the middle rather than the top. It was mostly green and red with yellow mixed in. That was until I went on vacation and my 4” piece was 90% dead when I came home

BoomCorals · Jul 8, 2018

PC rainbow takes time to show other colors.

goldenhurricane2 · Jul 8, 2018

tdileo said:
Mine actually looked better in lower light, like 120 PAR in the middle rather than the top. It was mostly green and red with yellow mixed in. That was until I went on vacation and my 4” piece was 90% dead when I came home

Mine is in the middle of my tank, so it’s not getting roasted but it’s also not low light either.

goldenhurricane2 · Jul 8, 2018

BoomCorals said:
PC rainbow takes time to show other colors.

Yeah that’s what I’ve read... I’ve had this piece for over a year now, so I’m hoping that the colors come soon.

Daniel Waters · Jul 8, 2018

My PC Rainbow is just now showing more coloration, and it's probably been well over 6 months or longer for that to happen! However, I did also make some lighting changes, so that may have been the catalyst also.

Bmasculine · Jul 8, 2018

Maybe I should move mine lower

ctpeasy · Jul 9, 2018

goldenhurricane2 said:
I’ve got a small colony of PC Rainbow... it’s grown out from a small frag. It’s growing great, but it’s barely got any color... just a hint of light pink, but nothing else.

Color in my other hard corals are normal... montis are bright, other acropora have great color, but for some reason I can’t get this PC Rainbow to color up!

Any ideas?

This was a little while back. I increased light coverage and have kept parameters stable and I’m starting to get the orange skin that turns red/pink at the tips. Growth tips are light pink/white. Base has green and purple growth edges.

High flow system under 10x3’ T5’s. 4 coral plus, 4 aqua blue special, 2 actinic. 200+ PAR.

Bmasculine · Jul 9, 2018

This is the one I bought I’m pretty sure it’s close to the same thing as pc rainbow It actually looked just like this for the first 5 days or so then turned mostly green and now just reddish brown but growing well so...

goldenhurricane2 · Jul 9, 2018

ctpeasy said:
This was a little while back. I increased light coverage and have kept parameters stable and I’m starting to get the orange skin that turns red/pink at the tips. Growth tips are light pink/white. Base has green and purple growth edges.

High flow system under 10x3’ T5’s. 4 coral plus, 4 aqua blue special, 2 actinic. 200+ PAR.

This looks similar to mine - but your is a little more pink. I have good PE just like you do though.

goldenhurricane2 · Jul 9, 2018

Bmasculine said:
This is the one I bought I’m pretty sure it’s close to the same thing as pc rainbow It actually looked just like this for the first 5 days or so then turned mostly green and now just reddish brown but growing well so...

The frags of it I see for sale (from the same guy I got mine from) have a green base that turns orange-ish and then into redish/pink towards the tips.

jda · Jul 9, 2018

Don't take it personal if PC Rainbow take a while to color up. There are many good hobbyists who struggle with it. For me, it seems to need to get larger and be in the system for a while before it gets good color, but it grows well all of the time.

goldenhurricane2 · Jul 9, 2018

jda said:
Don't take it personal if PC Rainbow take a while to color up. There are many good hobbyists who struggle with it. For me, it seems to need to get larger and be in the system for a while before it gets good color, but it grows well all of the time.

Thanks - sounds like exactly what's happening to mine.

jda · Jul 9, 2018

I used to have the same issue with Wet Thumbs Tierra del Fuego. ...just blah as it was growing. Now, it stands out as one of the most colorful and contrasting pieces in my tank. It just needed time too.

All of this said, I have a friend with a cantaloupe size PC Rainbow that is just kinda red-grey looking and has never colored up. The rest of his stuff looks really good. This is a finicky coral where I have never heard for-sure what makes them happy - with most stuff, you can get an idea (lots of light with some tables, lower light with smooth skinned, higher N and P with monochromatic stuff, lower N and P with corals with lost of contrast and colors, etc.), but PC Rainbow just seems to be an enigma.

goldenhurricane2 · Jul 9, 2018

jda said:
I used to have the same issue with Wet Thumbs Tierra del Fuego. ...just blah as it was growing. Now, it stands out as one of the most colorful and contrasting pieces in my tank. It just needed time too.

All of this said, I have a friend with a cantaloupe size PC Rainbow that is just kinda red-grey looking and has never colored up. The rest of his stuff looks really good. This is a finicky coral where I have never heard for-sure what makes them happy - with most stuff, you can get an idea (lots of light with some tables, lower light with smooth skinned, higher N and P with monochromatic stuff, lower N and P with corals with lost of contrast and colors, etc.), but PC Rainbow just seems to be an enigma.

That makes me feel a little better that it's not just me having issues!