Acans - Keeping the Rainbow!

[chrismelb]

Hi All,

I’ve see amazing rainbow Acans, just wondering if any of you have been able to keep the rainbow colours long-term? I’ve read low Blue/violet/UV (50-100 PAR) and regular feed works best but I’ve tried this with both T5 and LEDs and rainbows have still morphed to a red or became dull. Are there any other tips or tricks to keeping these colours? Really determined to have a rainbow garden .

 

[James M]

Where is the tank are you keeping them ? They tend to like shady areas

 

[John3]

Some rainbows like some light and will keep their colors and some will turn red/orange/purple. The best indicator is going to be a lineaged frag that has done fine under some light.

In the upper left corner of the first pic you can see a small purplish acan. That one used to have awesome rainbow colors but lost them. Right next to it is another acan that keeps developing better rainbow colors under the same lighting. Both have been in the tank over a year now.

 

[Wrangy]

Maybe we can get the #reefsquad to help out as well

 

[chrismelb]

Where is the tank are you keeping them ? They tend to like shady areas

I have them on the bottom of the tank in par around 80-100. I could try shading them more to see if that helps.

 

[chrismelb]

Hi John, interesting that the blue bands do not run all the way around that large polyp. Wondering if those areas of the polyp receive more light?

Chris

 

[Reef Bazaar]

in my experience, for rainbow acans, having primarily a bluer spectrum seems to help them retain their colors best. In-fact, I have had some "dud" acans morph into absolutely gorgeous rainbows by keeping them under blue only's and feeding them well.

In case of a mixed reef setting, you probably don't want it completely blue all the time so I'd recommend under a ledge to minimize direct "white" light. Also as John mentioned, most acans do tend to morph more than other corals, so best not to pay high $ for a wild frag -- i.e., pay high $ only for corals that have been in captivity and retained their colors for a decent amount of time.

 

[chrismelb]

in my experience, for rainbow acans, having primarily a bluer spectrum seems to help them retain their colors best. In-fact, I have had some "dud" acans morph into absolutely gorgeous rainbows by keeping them under blue only's and feeding them well.

In case of a mixed reef setting, you probably don't want it completely blue all the time so I'd recommend under a ledge to minimize direct "white" light. Also as John mentioned, most acans do tend to morph more than other corals, so best not to pay high $ for a wild frag -- i.e., pay high $ only for corals that have been in captivity and retained their colors for a decent amount of time.

Thanks John, good to know that the colours can come back, when you say blue light, are you referring to LEDs like Royal Blue and violet, or T5 actinic/blue plus.

 

[John3]

The side with the white lines is closer to the light. I have a decent colony of orange/blue/green acans directly under my light. The edges are covered by encroaching zoas. Those areas covered are a more solid orange. The areas in direct light all have solid white striping. You can see it fairly well in this pic.

 

[Reef Bazaar]

Thanks John, good to know that the colours can come back, when you say blue light, are you referring to LEDs like Royal Blue and violet, or T5 actinic/blue plus.

Sorry -- my name is not John yes, the colors can definitely come back, but hard to predict depending on light and nutrient levels. Personally I primarily only use LEDs, and shoot for a bluer overall spectrum on my LPS tanks; however T5 actinic/blue plus will do it too.

FWIW, I have noticed that my rainbow acans seem to retain their colors under my Orphek's quite well as well, and the orpheks go through a full day cycle with a period of whiter light in the tank. I have never had that happen under any other LED (and I've literally used all the big names), so who knows

I just wanted to point that out because that makes me believe, that maybe it's just a spectrum / spread / intensity issue that might cause rainbows to lose their rainbow colors? But none the less, if you are going acan heavy, I would recommend running on the blue side none the less -- 18k-22k

- Archit

 

[chrismelb]

Sorry -- my name is not John yes, the colors can definitely come back, but hard to predict depending on light and nutrient levels. Personally I primarily only use LEDs, and shoot for a bluer overall spectrum on my LPS tanks; however T5 actinic/blue plus will do it too.

FWIW, I have noticed that my rainbow acans seem to retain their colors under my Orphek's quite well as well, and the orpheks go through a full day cycle with a period of whiter light in the tank. I have never had that happen under any other LED (and I've literally used all the big names), so who knows

I just wanted to point that out because that makes me believe, that maybe it's just a spectrum / spread / intensity issue that might cause rainbows to lose their rainbow colors? But none the less, if you are going acan heavy, I would recommend running on the blue side none the less -- 18k-22k

- Archit

So sorry Archit, been running on little sleep. Good to know about leds working too. Interesting to also hear about Orpheks as I’ve been considering these , wonder what specifically it is in the Orpheks that explains this. I know they have a pretty amazing spectral range.

 

[Reef Bazaar]

So sorry Archit, been running on little sleep. Good to know about leds working too. Interesting to also hear about Orpheks as I’ve been considering these , wonder what specifically it is in the Orpheks that explains this. I know they have a pretty amazing spectral range.

No worries at all!

Yeah, I am honestly very impressed with the Orpheks. Pricey, but so worth it.

I'm assuming it's the spectrum in conjunction with the even spread. I used to be a fan of cluster based LEDs until I tried the Atlantik's and was completely blown away. These are what I recommend to all my customers now. There's a little learning curve on the software (especially if you don't plan on using one of their pre-programmed settings) but I have personally found myself liking their preprogrammed spectrums more and more .. have amazing growth and colors.

These lamps are pretty much all I recommend to my customers now.

- Archit

 

[Braves Fan]

Others above have touched on this above ,, buying wild corals that may morph more easily ,, this is something I look for when buying acans ,, I look at all the coral vendors ,, a lot ,, at least the ones I buy from I am going to use an example Cherry Corals ,, they sell acans ,, some may come from wild stock ,, but then they sell some ,, I will call them ,, named corals for them ,, these are some of their better acans ,, I am sure these acans are fraged from their parent,, in house colonies ,, these are the corals I want to buy ,, they have stood the test of time in holding their colors ,, if kept in good lighting ,, the down side ,, these are usely the more $$$ corals lol I still buy other wild acans ,, but named ,, in house colony frags are at the top of my ,, to buy list