Stylophora Coral Questions

[mr fishy 3000]

Hello Everyone,

I purchased this Stylophora Coral from my LFS along with some Acrophroa corals this weekend. It has full polyp extension but is still very white. Is this normal for SPS all the other SPS I bought from them is fully colored up and doing great.

If it’s not normal what is this a sign of and what can I do to help it.

Thanks for the help in advanced.

 

[tbrown]

Depends on what color Stylophora it is. There's several color varieties. The growth tips are usually white, but the polyps are usually not white.

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

I find most stylophora aren't fluorescent, so under blue lights, they aren't colorful. Try turning your lights whiter for a moment and see if you see color on the polyps.

A lot of the colony is just skeleton. Do you recall how the colony was mounted at the LFS? From the pictures it looks like it was mounted at an angle so the top was facing more outwards. The pictures show damage from the colony shading other parts of it causing the shaded part to lose polyps. That's normal and if that part gets light again it will re-grow polyps. Hope that makes sense. If not, let me know.

 

[mr fishy 3000]

I find most stylophora aren't fluorescent, so under blue lights, they aren't colorful. Try turning your lights whiter for a moment and see if you see color on the polyps.

A lot of the colony is just skeleton. Do you recall how the colony was mounted at the LFS? From the pictures it looks like it was mounted at an angle so the top was facing more outwards. The pictures show damage from the colony shading other parts of it causing the shaded part to lose polyps. That's normal and if that part gets light again it will re-grow polyps. Hope that makes sense. If not, let me know.

Here are some photos with white light.

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

Here are some photos with white light.

It definitely was mounted weird at the LFS. Do you know if it was this color at the LFS?

 

[steveschuerger]

Here are some photos with white light.

Kinda bleached looking as well. Stylos are pretty hardy. I’ve had ones that looked worse come back. Make sure to give it good medium-high flow and light. I keep mine in the upper tier of the rocks. Should look like this when healthy if it’s the Milka purple, but there’s green and rainbow varieties as well

 

[Yanir34]

Hello Everyone,

I purchased this Stylophora Coral from my LFS along with some Acrophroa corals this weekend. It has full polyp extension but is still very white. Is this normal for SPS all the other SPS I bought from them is fully colored up and doing great.

If it’s not normal what is this a sign of and what can I do to help it.

Thanks for the help in advanced.

it depends on what is your nutrients levels, what lighting do you have , flow .
my stylo's are happy in high intesty light ,and medium to high flow

 

[Yanir34]

I find most stylophora aren't fluorescent, so under blue lights, they aren't colorful. Try turning your lights whiter for a moment and see if you see color on the polyps.

A lot of the colony is just skeleton. Do you recall how the colony was mounted at the LFS? From the pictures it looks like it was mounted at an angle so the top was facing more outwards. The pictures show damage from the colony shading other parts of it causing the shaded part to lose polyps. That's normal and if that part gets light again it will re-grow polyps. Hope that makes sense. If not, let me know.

Stylos will be colorful and beautiful , if you give them the right conditions

here is some of my stylos , all of them started as tiny frags almost 2 years ago , and been fraged every 2 to 3 weeks .
those pics was shot only under T5 lights, no LED's.

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

Stylos will be colorful and beautiful , if you give them the right conditions

here is some of my stylos , all of them started as tiny frags almost 2 years ago , and been fraged every 2 to 3 weeks .
those pics was shot only under T5 lights, no LED's.

I completely agree. What I was trying to say is OPs coral may not look as colorful because it is under such heavy blues. I asked them to show a white light photo so we could see if it was bleached or not.

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

Stylos will be colorful and beautiful , if you give them the right conditions

here is some of my stylos , all of them started as tiny frags almost 2 years ago , and been fraged every 2 to 3 weeks .
those pics was shot only under T5 lights, no LED's.

Beautiful stylos BTW.

 

[Yanir34]

I completely agree. What I was trying to say is OPs coral may not look as colorful because it is under such heavy blues. I asked them to show a white light photo so we could see if it was bleached or not.

oh got you ....yep, I know what you say....personally I hate this heavy blue lighting setups.
it's wash some of the most beautiful colors of corals , and turn other into non-realistic photos/videos of reef tank.
I'm using 50/50 of blue/white in my setup ,and my corals love it

 

[mr fishy 3000]

It definitely was mounted weird at the LFS. Do you know if it was this color at the LFS?

Yes it was this color at LFS. I believe that's why some of it is grey and looks dead.

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

Yes it was this color at LFS. I believe that's why some of it is grey and looks dead.

Yes it's definitely not a healthy colony, unfortuantly. Just keep conditions right and it should bounce back. They're very hardy and resilient.

 

[mr fishy 3000]

it depends on what is your nutrients levels, what lighting do you have , flow .
my stylo's are happy in high intesty light ,and medium to high flow

I have 2 Hydra 32s, and it is in fairly high flow. I know the LFS had it under lower lighting so I am assuming it didn't get enough lifting while there.

 

[mr fishy 3000]

Yes it's definitely not a healthy colony, unfortuantly. Just keep conditions right and it should bounce back. They're very hardy and resilient.

How long should I expect this to take?

 

[mr fishy 3000]

Yes it's definitely not a healthy colony, unfortuantly. Just keep conditions right and it should bounce back. They're very hardy and resilient.

I am assuming since it is opening it polyps it should slowly color up and get better. Correct?

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

How long should I expect this to take?

My guess would be a few months.

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

I am assuming since it is opening it polyps it should slowly color up and get better. Correct?

Correct.

 

[mr fishy 3000]

it depends on what is your nutrients levels, what lighting do you have , flow .
my stylo's are happy in high intesty light ,and medium to high flow

Here is some more info, It is a 75 g aquairum with and MP40 above it that is set to 2000GPH of flow. I just adjusted my lighting to the BRS recommended settings for hydras and sps. It was set to the LPS recommended settings prior to that.

This is what the lights were set at:

• UV: 66%
• Violet: 66%
• Royal: 72%
• Blue: 72%
• Green: 6%
• Red: 6%
• Moonlight: 0%
• Cool White: 36%

this is what they are now:

• UV: 110%
• Violet: 110%
• Royal: 120%
• Blue: 120%
• Green: 10%
• Red: 10%
• Moonlight: 0%
• Cool White: 60%

 

[Yanir34]

Here is some more info, It is a 75 g aquairum with and MP40 above it that is set to 2000GPH of flow. I just adjusted my lighting to the BRS recommended settings for hydras and sps. It was set to the LPS recommended settings prior to that.

This is what the lights were set at:

• UV: 66%
• Violet: 66%
• Royal: 72%
• Blue: 72%
• Green: 6%
• Red: 6%
• Moonlight: 0%
• Cool White: 36%

this is what they are now:

• UV: 110%
• Violet: 110%
• Royal: 120%
• Blue: 120%
• Green: 10%
• Red: 10%
• Moonlight: 0%
• Cool White: 60%

I Dont know this type of schdule , i grow my corals with 10x54w T5's bulbs