Is this Garf Bonsai color normal?

[JCOLE]

I bought this Garf Bonsai frag from my LFS and almost lost it to RTN with my tank transfer in June. Fast forward 6 months and it is starting to take off. Mostly encrusted for the first 4 months and colored back up from the RTN. It has always been a dark purple with green polyps. However, over the last month the colors are looking awesome!!!! It is purple with blue going into yellow and orange around the center with green polyps.

Anyone seen this with a Garf Bonsai? See pic. Sorry for the crappy phone pictures.

 

[45ZoaGarden]

Not gonna lie, it looks like slight bleaching, not a color change.

 

[DarkSky]

What are your nitrates at? My garf does something similar when I let mine drop too low right before it starts to fade away. Might not be what's happening here...

 

[Graffiti Spot]

Garf bonsai acros stay solid purple, that looks like a validia or tricolor type which gets white in the branches when growing well and in good light. Under less light it will look like a bonsai. Keep up the good work and the white will really provide contrast to the tips and polyps as it grows and will spread down the branches the more light you give it. It’s not bleaching so don’t worry about that. Bleaching will affect all the base colors on the coral not just the inner branches. Some zeo type systems can make this coral look really crazy bright with lots of white and just purple tips.

 

[JCOLE]

Garf bonsai acros stay solid purple, that looks like a validia or tricolor type which gets white in the branches when growing well and in good light. Under less light it will look like a bonsai. Keep up the good work and the white will really provide contrast to the tips and polyps as it grows and will spread down the branches the more light you give it. It’s not bleaching so don’t worry about that. Bleaching will affect all the base colors on the coral not just the inner branches. Some zeo type systems can make this coral look really crazy bright with lots of white and just purple tips.

Thank you. I was questioning if it was a true Garf Bonsai. The LFS said it was when I bought it but they might have been wrong about it. This is what it looked like 6 months when I picked it up and put it in during my tank switch. The parameter change caused it to have TN and took a couple months to recover. I am hitting it with 500-600 per so it does have good light.

I will try and get a better picture today with my wife's camera. The phone cannot capture all of the colors. It is looking amazing!!!

 

[JCOLE]

Not gonna lie, it looks like slight bleaching, not a color change.

No. It is not bleaching. Phone picture doesnt do it any justice.

 

[JCOLE]

What are your nitrates at? My garf does something similar when I let mine drop too low right before it starts to fade away. Might not be what's happening here...

No my NO3 is around 15ppm.

 

[Softhammer]

The odds are against it being a true garf bonsai. However that isn’t a bad thing at all. It’s just become common practice to call any coral that bears any resemblance a GARF. Theres literally dozens of species that can have those colors. Either way it looks great, who cares what it’s called?

 

[SeaDweller]

Mine doesn't stay a solid purple throughout the whole colony. Mine's lighter, whiter in the middle and dark purple at the branches.

 

[motortrendz]

I think with higher par you'll start to see more colors show up in the body. I had mine low and it stayed dark. I decide to move it up and it got lighter in the center of the body. But I only got like a lighter bluish green. Your seems to have alot of nice coloring.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Looks healthy

 

[JCOLE]

The odds are against it being a true garf bonsai. However that isn’t a bad thing at all. It’s just become common practice to call any coral that bears any resemblance a GARF. Theres literally dozens of species that can have those colors. Either way it looks great, who cares what it’s called?

Thanks. I don't really listen to most when it comes to names because of that reason. I honestly don't care about the name just curious of the colors because it went from a solid purple to a rainbow of colors. Couldn't find anything online so just curious.

 

[JCOLE]

Mine doesn't stay a solid purple throughout the whole colony. Mine's lighter, whiter in the middle and dark purple at the branches.

Got any pics?

 

[JCOLE]

I think with higher par you'll start to see more colors show up in the body. I had mine low and it stayed dark. I decide to move it up and it got lighter in the center of the body. But I only got like a lighter bluish green. Your seems to have alot of nice coloring.

It is getting really good light and has been for about 6 months now. Arouns 600 par. Over the last month or so it has turned into a rainbow of colors.