What causes leathers to change colour, lighting?

[betareef]

I am supposing it is lighting. My lighting is minimal by reef aquarium standards - about 10 watts for a 52 itre tank, but there is lots of natural lighting as well. I only have a couple of leathers.

I have noticed that a bright green tipped sinularia that had a dark brown pink trunk, has now grown and expanded to twice it's size (over the last two months or so). The tips are still fairly bright green, but the trunk is light pink.

The toadstool leather otoh, is darker, and the tips are darker too, and it generally looks fatter, but it also frequently closes up and opens again every few days or so.

Both corals are mid-way up in the tank, on top of other live rock.

 

[ThisIsTheWay]

Pictures might help, but yes, light does influence coral color to some extent. That being said, I don't think I've observed much of a change in my leather colors except for my yellow fiji leather. I think it was a little more yellow when I first got it and now it's more a yellow/green color. I expect this is due to it being under LEDs and/or more blue light spectrum. I'd like to try put it under my T5 one of these days and see how it responds.

 

[betareef]

Pictures might help, but yes, light does influence coral color to some extent. That being said, I don't think I've observed much of a change in my leather colors except for my yellow fiji leather. I think it was a little more yellow when I first got it and now it's more a yellow/green color. I expect this is due to it being under LEDs and/or more blue light spectrum. I'd like to try put it under my T5 one of these days and see how it responds.

I didn't really take a before, but this one is after about one month, and it was starting to change.

and now it is a lot bigger and paler

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Its losing its color and turning white, the light is not strong enough IMO. It looks bigger because its stretching out trying to get more light.

Are these pictures of your 52 litre? Those fish are not suitable for that size tank.

 

[betareef]

Just wanted to report that the sinularia is getting it's pink shade back, with green tips, with no changes to the tank and lighting (other than water changes). maybe it was a growth phase ir something else. Meanwhile the toadstool leather remains very dark. I did order some more lighting, as I may want to add another coral or two of different types.

Will see what happens.