orange coraline

[malacoda]

I've have had black coraline, red, pink, purple, green and burgundy before ... but this dime-sized patch of orange was the brightest coraline I've ever seen. Pic was taken on my iPhone with the vivid-cool filter to get the color very close to what it was in person.

Would've loved to have watched it develop ... but my tuxedo urchin found it.

 

[Gtinnel]

Often orange coraline algea is a sign that the algea is dying in that spot.

 

[Gtinnel]

but my tuxedo urchin found it.

It is most likely the urchin that killed it. I've heard stories of people who have asterina stars having orange spots where the star was eating it.

 

[KrisReef]

I have found that the minute I find a coral, fish, invertebrate, or plant in my tank that I really admire for fins, color, growth pattern, or any possible delightful feature that it is almost certain that the same coral, fish, invertebrate, or plant life will wither and perish within a week. I recently purchased a yellow with blue tips torch that my filefish ate overnight. I have 7 or 8 other lps (and a few aiptasia) it could have eaten but it devoured my favorite before I caught him.

Axiom #2 , They always look best right before they die.

 

[malacoda]

Often orange coraline algea is a sign that the algea is dying in that spot.

Interesting. I'll have to keep an eye open to see if that occurs in other spots. In this particular spot though, it was a new patch. Over the course of 5 or 6 days I watched it go from the size of a pepper corn to the size of dime. Then, one morning it was gone. Completely. No little orange bits. No white calcareous residue. Just a clean cable. Which is why I put my money on the urchin explained below...

It is most likely the urchin that killed it. I've heard stories of people who have asterina stars having orange spots where the star was eating it.

Yah, when I saw it, I knew it probably wouldn't last long. Especially given that it was on the gyre cable. While my tuxedo will nibble on hair algae (which there very little of to begin with), it prefers coraline by and far. And is always on the back glass, gyre pumps and gyre cables in search of it.

There is hope though. If any more of the orange coraline should sprout on the rocks, my urchin never goes on them. So, I may get to see and admire more of it. My luck though, it'd spread to the point of being a pest.

I have found that the minute I find a coral, fish, invertebrate, or plant in my tank that I really admire for fins, color, growth pattern, or any possible delightful feature that it is almost certain that the same coral, fish, invertebrate, or plant life will wither and perish within a week. I recently purchased a yellow with blue tips torch that my filefish ate overnight. I have 7 or 8 other lps (and a few aiptasia) it could have eaten but it devoured my favorite before I caught him.

Axiom #2 , They always look best right before they die.

Ahh, yes. The never ending challenge to find the perfect balance. Even in a (relatively) small glass box, nature likes to remind us who's boss.