Renegade's Bleached Polyp Recovery Experiment

Wy Renegade · Mar 11, 2011

So I'm sure by now, that with the relatively large posts on zooxanthellae ( https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/general-reef-discussions/57712-lets-talk-about-zooxanthellae.html ) and bleaching ( https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/general-reef-discussions/57747-now-lets-talk-more-depth-about.html ), both of which are well outside my normal posting regime that some of you at least are wondering exactly what I'm up to.

Some back ground info first. A little over a month ago, I was reading through a thread on recovering bleached polyps. Now the reason I was attracted to this particular thread was due to the fact that due to the failure of a heater combined with the previous introduction of a upgrade in lighting, I had recently bleached some protopalythoa polyps.

Bleached protopalythoa polyps;

The author of the thread hinted that bleached polyps could indeed be recovered, but frustratingly, the thread ended before the author went into any further detail. Hence I was forced to do my own research, first into what exactly zooxanthellae is and finally into coral bleaching itself.

As I read through the information, my curiosity was aroused. Especially when I was reading the part about corals expelling zooxanthellae in order to absorbed new zooxanthellae that might in fact be more adopted to the existing environment. This prompted me to wonder as to whether or not the reabsorbed zooxanthellae would have the same pigments as the original, or would the polyps take on new color. Hence was the idea for the experiment born.

More to come . . .

AJ Reef · Mar 11, 2011

Sounds interesting.

Tagging along. :)

drainbamage · Mar 11, 2011

this is very interesting-even if I think those polyps look really cool the way they are! Following along and curious what the results will be, don't happen to have a before bleaching pic, do you?

Troylee · Mar 11, 2011

I would leave them there sweet!!!! Casper palys man...1smile1

Wy Renegade · Mar 14, 2011

Thanks for tagging in guys, sorry I'm slow updating. I like the white look too, but unfortunately the polyps would just slowly starve unless they are target fed continually. I had to pick up a few supplies and do some moving and fragging in order to get everything in order for getting this started. More pictures and information to come later this evening.

Wy Renegade · Mar 15, 2011

Alright, time for an update. I tried to upload yesterday, but my connection from home was being a pain and wouldn't let me. Anyway, had to pick up a few supplies for this experiement: some Vibrance by aquavitro (raises Iodide concentrations, not iodine), some Reef Nutrition Oyster Feast for the polyps to prevent them from starving and a new turkey baster to keep the frags blowed off.

secretreefer · Mar 15, 2011

cool research! i'm tagging along too!

Wy Renegade · Mar 15, 2011

So the question was in regards to the reabsorption of zooxanthellae, will the polyp reabsorb the same color of pigment/zooxanthellae, or will it absorb a little of everything that is available?

After doing a little fragging, I moved a bunch of different protopalys into the same tank as the bleached polyps; Hawiian Death, Nuclear Green, Palythoa grandis, and Purple Death. I've got a Captain America frag I plan to move over as well, just haven't had a chance yet. I placed all the frags onto the same rock in close proximity, with the bleached polyps sitting above all the others, in an area of relatively high flow.

As you can see, everything hadn't reopened up as of yesterday yet. Now I'll just have to keep the polyps all fed, and see what happens. I'll try and post up weekly updates.

Captain Nemo · Mar 15, 2011

Tagging along, and they would be worth the target feed to keep the only known casper palys alive and to your self!!

ficklefins · Mar 15, 2011

If your other corals are not expelling zooxanthellae how do expect the bleached corals to ingest them? You could try sacrificing a few polyps of another frag to the experiment, or try and pull some reasoning off this article:
Induction of Symbiosis in Tridacna crocea (C. Bivalvia, F. Tridacnidae) Using Zooxanthellae from T. gigas and from T. crocea: Effects on Clam Survival and Growth | Mingoa-Licuanan | Science Diliman

My guess is that if you do not purposefully expose your bleached corals to zooxanthellae from other corals it will just retain its previous color (pre bleaching)

Wy Renegade · Mar 15, 2011

secretreefer said:
cool research! i'm tagging along too!

Captain Nemo said:
Tagging along, and they would be worth the target feed to keep the only known casper palys alive and to your self!!

Thanks for tagging along guys. Na Nemo, I'm relatively certain these are probably not the only Casper palys out there, I see posts with people trying to sell "white zoas or palys" every once in awhile, and they are almost always bleached polyps. I'd rather just see what colors they end up taking up.

Wy Renegade · Mar 16, 2011

ficklefins said:
If your other corals are not expelling zooxanthellae how do expect the bleached corals to ingest them? You could try sacrificing a few polyps of another frag to the experiment, or try and pull some reasoning off this article:
Induction of Symbiosis in Tridacna crocea (C. Bivalvia, F. Tridacnidae) Using Zooxanthellae from T. gigas and from T. crocea: Effects on Clam Survival and Growth | Mingoa-Licuanan | Science Diliman

My guess is that if you do not purposefully expose your bleached corals to zooxanthellae from other corals it will just retain its previous color (pre bleaching)

Indeed, similar thoughts had crossed my mind Luciano. I remember reading an article sometime back about squeezing leather coral frags from different leathers into the same bowl in order to get them to expel their zooxanthallae, and then letting them sit for 20 minutes in the "soup" in order to reabsorb it. In this case however, I'm relying on what both Delbeck and Sprung and Borneman said, which is that corals are constantly expelling zooxanthallae. Additionally, I did push it a bit, in that all the new frags were not light acclimated to the new tank, hence they may experience some minor bleaching as well.

As for the prebleached color, that is exactly what I am out to see. You see, only I know what color they were prior to bleaching, but as you can all see from the pictures, there is no hint of color left in the polyps. Therefore, I believe that the polyps expelled all their zooxanthallae and/or pigments, and as a result the new coloring should be the result of uptake of new zooxanthallae. Anyway, we shall see.

tampasnooker · Mar 21, 2011

I've had this debate in the past but it always got left dangling. Kudos for detailing it. Similar comparisons can be made to the two faced paly debate.
I may be wrong, but aren't zooxanthellae typically brown/gold brown? That would contribute to shading of the polyp. I think that color is a factor of the pigments - which I believe are genetic, and the variable permeability to light from the zooxanthellae - which are picked up environmentally. My guess is that you will recover the original color but possibly a different shade due to different species and concentration zoox. Or you will start a frenzy of zoa cloning experiments and we'll soon have nuclear dingdang armor of fruitloops!

subielover · Mar 21, 2011

Great job Randy! Looking forward to seeing what happens next!

droblack · Mar 21, 2011

Shouldn't there be plenty of zooxanthellae in a healthy reef system for a coral to regain them and thus color from them? I'm also wondering about what Tampasnooker posted. Makes more sense to me than to assume a coral has to wait to acquire all of the different colored zooxanthellae that it prefers.

wicked demon · Mar 21, 2011

Lol, nuclear ding dang armour, thats funny!

Wy Renegade · Mar 21, 2011

tampasnooker said:
I've had this debate in the past but it always got left dangling. Kudos for detailing it. Similar comparisons can be made to the two faced paly debate.
I may be wrong, but aren't zooxanthellae typically brown/gold brown? That would contribute to shading of the polyp. I think that color is a factor of the pigments - which I believe are genetic, and the variable permeability to light from the zooxanthellae - which are picked up environmentally. My guess is that you will recover the original color but possibly a different shade due to different species and concentration zoox. Or you will start a frenzy of zoa cloning experiments and we'll soon have nuclear dingdang armor of fruitloops!

Indeed Doug you are correct. Zooxanthellae is typically golden brown in color, with other colors being the result of pigments and lighting. However, just as the polyps can expel their zooxanthellae, so can they expel their pigments. So in part I'm curious to see if they reaquire the same or different pigments. As for the frenzy, we will have to see what happens. I'm assuming color recovery will take several months to accomplish.

subielover said:
Great job Randy! Looking forward to seeing what happens next!

Thanks Ed

droblack said:
Shouldn't there be plenty of zooxanthellae in a healthy reef system for a coral to regain them and thus color from them? I'm also wondering about what Tampasnooker posted. Makes more sense to me than to assume a coral has to wait to acquire all of the different colored zooxanthellae that it prefers.

Such was my thoughts db, as for the pigments we will have to see. Part of why I wanted to conduct the experiment myself. Like Doug, I've had the discussion, but never experienced it directly nor talked with anyone who has.