Starburst cap question

[Nomadic1]

I have had a frag of this for about 6 months now, and, it seems that even in my old, stable tank, it is very hard to keep the polyps yellow, as well as the rest of the tissue the deep red/orange you see all over the internet (cough, photoshop, cough). Can anyone give me some recommendations on how to get the deep, intense colors, such as where to place it in the tank? My tank is lit with AI Vegas, and was previously lit with AI Sols, and with both, I have about the same color rendition.

Thanks!

 

[gar732]

I have this piece and no photo shop required to get it nice and bright. Currently I have it in lower flow and higher light but I've given it more flow without issue. The only time I had trouble keeping it colored up was when my PO4 was up.

 

[spspirate]

For me, under a 250 radium it seems like a ordinary cap. Now, when this coral is exposed under a blue spectrum like royal blue LED's it "pops"! Like a whole new coral. This is just my experience with it.

 

[RalphsReef]

I have mine under T5's and it looks like the pieces advertised. I have the mother a tad higher, with frags along the bottom. Even with a 6" difference in their placement, all look as they should.

 

[childress5tyler]

I have mine under T5's and it looks like the pieces advertised. I have the mother a tad higher, with frags along the bottom. Even with a 6" difference in their placement, all look as they should.

Do you have pics?

 

[RalphsReef]

Here is one of the frags. This one is on the bottom of my 80G Deep Blue.

 

[jgraz]

Here a quick pic of mine with my iPhone. Low flow Miesian light. It's in the back corner of my 90 under T5's

 

[jgraz]

I should add the pic does this no justice. It's a deep orange and the polyps while small do pop very well

 

[childress5tyler]

I moved mine to the side and out of direct light and I saw better polyp coloration and extensions in just a few days.

 

[watchguy123]

Monti's of all types are generally the easiest sps corals to keep. The trick to getting them maximally colored up is stable parameters, good lighting, decent flow actually just the usual stuff for sps. Sometimes a specific coral just can't quite get happy in a new home despite all the requirements being met, frustrating to say the least.

My reeftek starburst was in the lower third of the tank and it started getting big so I broke the colony off. Really just needed that real estate. I have had it sitting on the sand for a couple of months now and seems happy there as well. Mine has never been red but it is typically a deep orange, deeper orange than a plain orange cap, I think.

Photoshopping is necessary to color correct lighting. Over photoshopping is not cool and like pests, it is endemic to the hobby. Check out surrounding coral, sand and rock to get best perspective. Sand is supposed to be white, other corals should have normal colors and rock usually should be grey to pinkish/purple, atleast those are the keys I use to evaluate other photos. But some people have some extraordinary lighting which can make things look pretty darn crazy wild.



Same identical picture, just not cropped as close.

 

[Nuocmam]

I have Mike's SC Sunburst cap which is very similar and I don't give it that much light to be honest and it looks good. Mark's is the size of a Buick. Looks like he keeps his on the sandbed.

 

[Jay6363]

Following! Just got a frag