LPS Color Up?

[jackson6745]

Since LPS also have a symbiotic algae living within their flesh, would it be safe to say that you can color them up (like SPS) given low nutrient conditions and proper lighting?

The only experience I have coloring up LPS is with my scoly. When I bought it as "bleeding apple" the color was so so. As I look back at original pics I can see how much more vibrant it has become. I also feeding it some mysis once per week or biweekly so maybe that had something to do with it?

If anyone else has experience LPS coloring up, wouldn't it be better to aim for a lower nutrient tank such as an SPS tank would have? Please post pics if you have.

When I first recieved the coral

A few months later

 

[NYreefNoob]

rich all my lps have nice color and i run a low nutrient sps tank, id post pic's but i cant get a good shot with my cam

 

[ScottK]

Nice scoly, Rich! Here are a couple of shots of a small favia frag I had. When I first got it, it was almost transparent with only a hint of color in the center. After a couple of months, it had really changed. The center turned a sharp mint green with speckles on the margins. Granted, it's not as nice as your scoly, but the process of coloring up was similar . This was in an sps tank, so the nutrient load was low, but I noticed the biggest change in color once I started directly feeding all my lps with cyclopeze.

Before

After

 

[masterswimmer]

Rich, that scolly looks diseased. If you want me to help you with it, just LMK and I'll take it

R

 

[NDY]

Love The Scoly

 

[tosiek]

jackson, feeding helps alot with coloration loss. Whatever they aren't pulling out from the water in a low nutrient tank they are mostly getting from foods.

I had two bleached acan frags in my frag tank that were white/brown after beeing overgrown by cheato without me noticing. Fed one and didn't feed the other and u can guess which got color alot quicker.

 

[jackson6745]

Russ, you got it

Scott and tosiek, I guess it makes sense that the coral would absorb the nutrients from the food. Hmmm......do you think you could overfeed an LPS (assuming water quality is kept pristine)?

 

[ScottK]

Hmmm...I'd never thought about overfeeding a coral. I would guess you would have to feed it quite a bit to really overfeed it.

 

[DrCooper]

Nice scoly, Rich! Here are a couple of shots of a small favia frag I had. When I first got it, it was almost transparent with only a hint of color in the center. After a couple of months, it had really changed. The center turned a sharp mint green with speckles on the margins. Granted, it's not as nice as your scoly, but the process of coloring up was similar . This was in an sps tank, so the nutrient load was low, but I noticed the biggest change in color once I started directly feeding all my lps with cyclopeze.

Before

After

Question about feeding with the cyclopeze! When I feed my LPS i use pieces of krill so they gulp it up. Do you spray teh cyclopeze at them and they will just get it that way or is there some trick? Sorry for the dumb question!

 

[Chongpark27]

Thats a nice looking scoly rich :splitspin Great job of coloring it up

 

[ScottK]

Cooper, yes, I would wait until the lights were out and the feeding tentacles were extended. I'd mix cyclops with some tank water and squirt it at my lps with a syringe. I fed krill and mysis to some of my larger lps, like a bubble coral, but I figured in the wild, the smaller lps were probably catching smaller food like cyclops.

 

[DrCooper]

Cooper, yes, I would wait until the lights were out and the feeding tentacles were extended. I'd mix cyclops with some tank water and squirt it at my lps with a syringe. I fed krill and mysis to some of my larger lps, like a bubble coral, but I figured in the wild, the smaller lps were probably catching smaller food like cyclops.

Thanks, I am going to give it a try tonight!