Trachyphyllia losing color

dmolavi · Dec 4, 2018

Any idea why my trachy would be losing color? It is under a BuildMyLED 20000K reef fixture (http://web.archive.org/web/20140325143448/http://www.buildmyled.com/20000k-reef-spectrum-xb-series/) I spot feed it PE frozen calanus, and the "juice" from a melted PE mysis cube.

I'm going to check my water params tonight. The rest of the tank is healthy, so I'm going to focus on calcium and magnesium. Anything else I should look for?

BigJim · Dec 4, 2018

I would recommend putting it on the sand bed in a lower light part of the tank. It looks like it is bleaching and it would definitely do better on the sand bed.

DSC reef · Dec 4, 2018

Agreed. Looks like over illumination

VSVP bet · Dec 4, 2018

Agreed with above, they are a sand-dwelling species that does well in lower light. I would put it in a semi-shaded area for like 3 days, then leave it on the sand bed with low/med light. I have mine in lower light. It was getting half bleached when I had my light settings too high, it has since returned, it looks like this now.

When you feed does it still react and eat even though its bleached?

dmolavi · Dec 4, 2018

Thanks everyone for the super fast replies. I've moved it to a shadier spot. I might need to move some rock to create more shade as a more permanent solution

dmolavi · Dec 4, 2018

VSVP bet said:
Agreed with above, they are a sand-dwelling species that does well in lower light. I would put it in a semi-shaded area for like 3 days, then leave it on the sand bed with low/med light. I have mine in lower light. It was getting half bleached when I had my light settings too high, it has since returned, it looks like this now.

When you feed does it still react and eat even though its bleached?

Yes it does, thankfully

VSVP bet · Dec 4, 2018

dmolavi said:
Thanks everyone for the super fast replies. I've moved it to a shadier spot. I might need to move some rock to create more shade as a more permanent solution

Bleaching is never the end for these guys either (as long as water condition stay stable), just keep it fed (dont over feed) and it should come back in a couple weeks.

dmolavi · Dec 4, 2018

VSVP bet said:
Bleaching is never the end for these guys either (as long as water condition stay stable), just keep it fed (dont over feed) and it should come back in a couple weeks.

That's good to hear. Thanks. Should it be fed daily or is a couple times a week sufficient?

VSVP bet · Dec 4, 2018

dmolavi said:
That's good to hear. Thanks. Should it be fed daily or is a couple times a week sufficient?

Id give it some mysis every other day or so, just a few pieces should be fine. You just want it to recover, it doesnt need a lot of food, just enough to give it a little boost.