Color loss in zoa.

[James_O]

I added this small colony of zoas to my tank around 2 weeks ago. This is what they looked like when I first got them:

(Notice the brilliant green)

This is what they look like now:

They have definitely lost color... any ideas? Maybe it’s because they have been on the sand bed for these 2 weeks? I just moved them up to a rock closer to the surface.

——-

*that second picture is sort of old. Right now, the polyp is all brown, with just the green center. I’ll get an up to date picture in a little while.

 

[tbrown]

It looks more like a palythoa than a zoa. I have some arctic ice palys that change from green to brown and brown with green stripes based on the potassium content in the tank water from my understanding.

They were a drab brown when I got them, but now they're a blue/green.

Same colony after about 2 weeks. If it's the same for you, beware that they will do their best to take over your tank.

 

[James_O]

So it will just take time for them to color up? Or it the potassium?

 

[tbrown]

Mine went from brown when I got them to green after a couple of days. If yours are going from green to brown, it's because of either a water quality difference or a lighting difference most likely. Different lights put out different spectrums which can cause corals to color morph, more or less nutrients can cause them to brighten or turn drab, etc.

 

[James_O]

Mine went from brown when I got them to green after a couple of days. If yours are going from green to brown, it's because of either a water quality difference or a lighting difference most likely. Different lights put out different spectrums which can cause corals to color morph, more or less nutrients can cause them to brighten or turn drab, etc.

Interesting... I haven’t changed up the lighting whatsoever. I’ll give it a few days in its new location before really worrying.

 

[James_O]

It looks more like a palythoa than a zoa. I have some arctic ice palys that change from green to brown and brown with green stripes based on the potassium content in the tank water from my understanding.

They were a drab brown when I got them, but now they're a blue/green.

Same colony after about 2 weeks. If it's the same for you, beware that they will do their best to take over your tank.

So are the arctic ice supposed to be sort of dull? The colony is doing great and it is growing new heads. I thought maybe I did something wrong, because they don't have exotic colors.