Corals Turning Pink?

[AquaRaider44]

I purchased what I thought was a green birds nest coral as well as a green plate coral and the green birds nest coral has changed to a deep pink almost purple which is more noticeable at night. The green plate coral has also shifted its color to be pinker but still looks green in the day.

Plate at night

Birdsnest at the top middle and plate bottom middle in front of the clam in the day using a yellow filter for less blue light.

 

[Big G]

Bump

 

[AquaRaider44]

Bump

Have you experienced this?

 

[Dana Riddle]

Hope I'm not stepping on any toes... It is not unusual for colorful coral proteins to transition from green to red or red to green. Various environmental factors can cause this, such as pH, metal content, lighting (especially spectral qualities.) In some cases, lighting plays no part and color transition is a result of oxidation and can occur in darkness. There are hundreds of colorful proteins described - there are probably thousands and each could respond to parameters in a different manner. To complicate things, researchers found a Favia coral that contained about 25 different colorful proteins. If even one is enhanced or degraded, the color of the coral could change.

 

[Saintnovakai]

Wow you got the right might man answering your question. My issue is that everything under my Hydra HDs shift from Red to pink or this pale washed out tone. Doesn't matter if it's up high or down low. Can't completely lost. Yours is more interesting though.

 

[AquaRaider44]

I'm using Mars aqua lights on 65% blue and 20% white and it is very odd how only those colors seem to shift. Even my elegance has a hint if pink on it now with more pink tips.

 

[Dana Riddle]

I'm using Mars aqua lights on 65% blue and 20% white and it is very odd how only those colors seem to shift. Even my elegance has a hint if pink on it now with more pink tips.

The bird's nest pink coloration is a non-fluorescent chromoprotein. These are usually a response to light intensity/spectrum. It's green color is probably due to a fluorescent green protein. The Elegance coral has a green protein (Clade D) that can transition (in some cases from green to red) - probably due to spectral quality.

 

[Saintnovakai]

The bird's nest pink coloration is a non-fluorescent chromoprotein. These are usually a response to light intensity/spectrum. It's green color is probably due to a fluorescent green protein. The Elegance coral has a green protein (Clade D) that can transition (in some cases from green to red) - probably due to spectral quality.

And red or orange Montipora shifting to pink?

 

[Dana Riddle]

And red or orange Montipora shifting to pink?

Montiporas are odd - they can be non-fluorescent orange, fluorescent orange, orange due to the presence of phycoerythrin... so I can't really answer. I might add that many orange Montiporas prefer lower light intensities and could fade in color if exposed to too much light.

 

[Saintnovakai]

Montiporas are odd - they can be non-fluorescent orange, fluorescent orange, orange due to the presence of phycoerythrin... so I can't really answer. I might add that many orange Montiporas prefer lower light intensities and could fade in color if exposed to too much light.

Sad thing is I think that it must be spectral because even my war coral does this and I've seen it in other tanks too with Acans.

 

[Dana Riddle]

Although a general statement can't be made, some red corals absorb violet/blue light and fluoresce it as red, which could be an aid to photosynthesis.

Sad thing is I think that it must be spectral because even my war coral does this and I've seen it in other tanks too with Acans.

 

[AquaRaider44]

Although a general statement can't be made, some red corals absorb violet/blue light and fluoresce it as red, which could be an aid to photosynthesis.

Very interesting information on this. I wonder if this is how people like Jason Fox "create" new coral colors. The other question would be if the color would change back if I change lighting as my pink birdsnest coral is super cool and would hate to lose the color.

 

[Dana Riddle]

Very interesting information on this. I wonder if this is how people like Jason Fox "create" new coral colors. The other question would be if the color would change back if I change lighting as my pink birdsnest coral is super cool and would hate to lose the color.

No easy answers here... Some color transitions are reversible, while others are not. To begin to get a clue, an absorbance/reflectance analysis would be required.