What causes SPS to lighten/bleach

YLChik · 11-23-2007, 09:00 AM

OK so here is the deal
I have various sps that I was given in July of this year that have been growing well and showing great color and pe ect. up until about a week or so ago. I noticed the color going MUCH lighter. I have seen RTN - boy that happens quick, and i am hoping that this is not STN. Polyps are still extended, but also lighter.

FOr those that want to the specs
55 gallon
4* 65w T5's on individual reflectors - the slr kit from reefgeek
annonia, nitrate, nitrite -0
cal
425
dkh-9
phospates... i have no test, but I got crazy algae since the yellow tang died.
2 korlia 3's and a mag 3 return pump for flow
2-3 in sand bed depennding on where the pistol shrimp wants to put it

Pics to follow

Hendersonracing · 11-23-2007, 09:13 AM

have you checked your magnesium?

wc's?

leveldrummer · 11-23-2007, 09:18 AM

a fish dying can cause some issues, if you get an ammonia spike, of if you changed any flow, or lighting (new bulbs?) they are really touchy, anything can set them off, did it happen to all of your sps or just a few?

ChrisPrusha · 11-23-2007, 09:18 AM

Geoff has mentioned that excess phosphates in the water will cause SPS to lose their vibrant color. I've recently begun keeping a close eye on my new SPS to see what happens to them.

Loverotties · 11-23-2007, 09:30 AM

Your Phosphate are probally High from thye Dead fish.also maybe your Ph or your salinity.I don't know what 4*(maybe 4' or 4@?)but are your bulbs old?

Brent Cone · 11-23-2007, 09:37 AM

I found this.....
It is hard to identify SPS corals in aquariums because when they grow they do not necessarily take on the shapes we are accustomed to due to the type of lighting we use, the water motion and the proximity of other corals. As a result they are hard to ID correctly in many cases.
The fact that the corals are bright in color does not necessarily mean that they are healthy.
Acropora is very prone to bleaching or loss of Zooxanthellae. Certain species are more delicate. Get input from your dealer and buy only the hardier types if you do not have a lot of experience with SPS corals yet.
Rapid growth is a sign of good health.
Bleaching is the loss of Zooxanthellae and color. This does not mean the coral is dead though. All the polyp tissue is still there. The only thing that has happened is that the symbiotic algae and pigments are gone. These corals still survive but need more care.
Sometimes the bleaching can be reversed with good lighting, good water motion, and good feeding.
SPS corals, especially Acropora types, grow rapidly if well cared for.
The following factors can cause bleaching:

Stress during shipping.
Sudden rises in temperature to over 84 degrees F.
Light shock or the too rapid switch from one type of lighting to another without giving the coral enough tim to acclimate itself to this new lighting.
Not acclimating the coral for long enough
Stress due to wrong tank water quality.
Sudden over use of GAC for too long or in too large a quantity.

Placing a coral in a shaded area after it has been used to a high amount of light creates stress. So does the opposite. Such changes need to occur slowly.
There is a big difference between bleaching and rapid tissue necrosis. The latter is loss of tissue whereas in bleaching no tissue is lost.
In RTN the polyp tissue starts to disintegrate, often at the base of the coral, and sloughs off. If water it directed at it, the tissue detaches from the coral and floats around, the tissue is dead.
What helps in fighting RTN?

Large water changes (immediately upon noticing RTN or signs of it).
By large here we mean 30 percent or more at one time

Brent. HTH

YLChik · 11-23-2007, 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hendersonracing

have you checked your magnesium?

wc's?

have not checked mag.
I do 5 gallon water changes every 2 weeks

Quote:

Originally Posted by leveldrummer

a fish dying can cause some issues, if you get an ammonia spike, of if you changed any flow, or lighting (new bulbs?) they are really touchy, anything can set them off, did it happen to all of your sps or just a few?

recently changed flow
bulbs are 6 months old

Quote:

Originally Posted by Loverotties

Your Phosphate are probally High from thye Dead fish.also maybe your Ph or your salinity.I don't know what 4*(maybe 4' or 4@?)but are your bulbs old?

sg is 1.026
I have 4 65 watt T5 bulbs ( they are also 4 ft long)

* was meant to indicate times

as far as pics go my computer is not letting me upload... anything I can be watching for or doing at this point?

ScruffyRubicon · 11-23-2007, 09:51 AM

I agree with the others. Check the mag. Are you having any trouble with algae right now? If so, the phosphates could also be an issue.

crvz · 11-23-2007, 12:21 PM

Any recent changes could upset a balance. You said a change in flow, has that impacted the corals in question? Also, which corals are we talking about? I know you've got Acropora sp., Montipora sp., Seriotopora sp., Psammacora sp., Pocillipora sp. corals in the tank, is it one in particular? Or just across the board.

Like others have said, check a few of your levels (mg, nitrate, and po4 specifically, though po4 tests are often useless and you're better just to look for increased algal growth for phosphate indication). Have there been any other changes? New bulbs? Photoperiod changes? Additive changes? Salt changes? Temperature changes with the winterish season?

YLChik · 11-23-2007, 12:59 PM

green slimer from Whiskey
tricolor acro from chris
orange polyp digi from Whiskey
ora blue tort
these are the 3 that are most noticable

YEs to increased algae over the last few months
I had been slacking on water changes and picke dup again recently
photoperiosd has been mostly stable - a few days it was outta wack at daylight savings time - timers went all wonkey and it took me 3 days or so to figure out lights were on more than they should have been.

additive, salt - same
temp - i have a 2-3 degree swing but that is how it has always been.

crvz · 11-23-2007, 01:09 PM

Hmm, I'm curious to see pictures, so try to kick the computer a few times.

If they're losing color, that would indicate to me that there was some build-up of nutrients in the water column (as well as the increase in algae). My experience with RTN is usually a stress related event, as Brent pointed out with his early post. Though admittedly, I've recently lost a coral that had been in my tank for some time for almost no reason that I noticed. Complete RTN from the base up. I have some rationale for why it may have happened, and this was an isolated event.

So if you've got some brown out or color fading, I'd concentrate on nutrient export and cleaning up the tank. If you've got very quick tissue loss, I'd worry about minimzing stress events in the tank. Monitor pH and temp, be very conscientious during water changes (ensure salinity, pH, and temp all match before adding any water to the tank), maybe back off on the photoperiod a little (maybe 10-20%), and maybe even target feed the corals just a bit (this is just an idea, it may be a terrible recommendation and please try to corroborate prior to implementing this!).

tdwyatt · 11-23-2007, 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by YLChik

...temp - i have a 2-3 degree swing but that is how it has always been.

2-3 degree swing at WHAT TEMP???

Lots of interesting etiologies related to bleaching events, everything from coral adaptation due to changing its endosymbionts to meet changing environmental conditions (see Lynn Margalis) to infections related to susceptability changes to certain types of infections that affect the zooxanthellae (Vibrio spp in particular), but the common thread seen most often in bleaching events relates to excesses in temp and/or lighting, although many of the comments made so far are appropriate, they usually are not enough by themselves, but add elevated temps, even for just part of the day at 87-89^oF...

What is your temp cycle like in the tank in 24 hours?

tdwyatt · 11-23-2007, 01:38 PM

oops, forgot to mention, look at the specimens that are bleaching/lightening with a hand lens and look for red acropora mites...

Hendersonracing · 11-23-2007, 01:42 PM

hey Tom I have a green and fuzzy Marshall Island and it has 2 white blotches on it all the sudden...I took my turkey baster and nothing came off...could that be RB'S????
Ill post a pic later!

Fly Guy · 11-23-2007, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hendersonracing

hey Tom I have a green and fuzzy Marshall Island and it has 2 white blotches on it all the sudden...I took my turkey baster and nothing came off...could that be RB'S????
Ill post a pic later!

RB's wont cause sudden white blotches......

aefw's can.

RB's will cause lack of PE and color loss over the coral as a whole

ps- you are scaring me....which tank are you talking about?? RB's dont scare me..........those white blotches do.....

send me a pic please