What makes a monti pale?

[Ds04384]

I have a rainbow monti in one of my tanks that looks great. I moved a frag into my other tank and while it has grown well, it looks horrible. I just moved the original frag plug back to the original tank to compare the color difference

You can see how bad the one on the right look now but both of these are from the same original frag. Parameters are similar between tanks. Biggest different I know of between the two is the good looking monti tank runs around 77-78 degrees but the other runs a bit hotter around 81. Could that be the cause?

 

[Will Wohlers]

No intense of lighting. Low magnesium. Not enough nitrates and phosphates call all be contributing factors in pale montipora.

 

[Ds04384]

No intense of lighting. Low magnesium. Not enough nitrates and phosphates call all be contributing factors in pale montipora.

I think the lighting is sufficient. I have acros growing really well and looking good, it’s just the montis that are giving me trouble

 

[Will Wohlers]

Sorry typo... mean to say to much intense lighting. Remember acros need far more light then most montipora can handle. What is your magnesium level and water parameters?

 

[Ds04384]

Sorry typo... mean to say to much intense lighting. Remember acros need far more light then most montipora can handle. What is your magnesium level and water parameters?

Too much light could be the issue. I’m going to do my water change/testing tomorrow so I’ll update with current parameters then.

 

[Backreefing]

Alkalinity difference between the aquariums ? And lighting
Off topic but is that bubble alge in the pic ?

 

[madweazl]

Our red monti caps bleach out with too much light; usually around 250 PAR but I have one rogue frag that gets about 350 that is doing fine. I've seen no correlation with ours doing poorly in lower magnesium (1250ppm) scenarios but this is close to NSW. One thing I've noticed with all my SPS is that the further I stray from NSW levels, odd issues crop up more frequently. Nothing detrimental but something minor like a slight pale color, random STN in a small area, or just general unhealthy look. As I got close to NSW levels, everything seems to cope with changes (intentional or not) to the system much better with little or no reaction.

 

[Katrina71]

I personally think the temp could make the difference. This is strictly supposition. Just based on what I have read in regards to coral reefs and global warming. I would suspect lighting and parameters first though.

 

[madweazl]

I personally think the temp could make the difference. This is strictly supposition. Just based on what I have read in regards to coral reefs and global warming. I would suspect lighting and parameters first though.

That temp would need to be significantly higher though; in the summer months, there aren't many (any?) reefs under 81°.

 

[Katrina71]

That temp would need to be significantly higher though; in the summer months, there aren't many (any?) reefs under 81°.

Maybe. There have been significant studies indicating .5 degree impacts coral though. Like I said, I can't say 100%.

 

[madweazl]

Maybe. There have been significant studies indicating .5 degree impacts coral though. Like I said, I can't say 100%.

I certainly agree, this usually happens around 86° however. The Great Barrier Reef averages 80.5° year round (lows of 75° with normal highs of 86°).

 

[homer1475]

Interesting you guys mention temps. I have a frag of sunset monti that was growing very well, and colored up very nicely. Just recently I added a UV filter to combat dinos. This raised my temp from 78 to 81. Just within the last couple days I have noticed this same monti starting to turn pale in areas, while other areas look fine.

Nothing in my tank has changed with the exception of the UV which raised temps. Wondering now if I turn off the UV and lower temps, will the monti color back up?

 

[madweazl]

Interesting you guys mention temps. I have a frag of sunset monti that was growing very well, and colored up very nicely. Just recently I added a UV filter to combat dinos. This raised my temp from 78 to 81. Just within the last couple days I have noticed this same monti starting to turn pale in areas, while other areas look fine.

Nothing in my tank has changed with the exception of the UV which raised temps. Wondering now if I turn off the UV and lower temps, will the monti color back up?

The sudden, steady increase in temperature could have had an impact. What the UV sterilizer has killed off may have a (likely) temporary impact as well.

 

[homer1475]

The sudden, steady increase in temperature could have had an impact. What the UV sterilizer has killed off may have a (likely) temporary impact as well.

Yeah I had at first thought it was the dinos dying, but it's been a month or so now, and only just the last few days did it turn pale. The dino's have been long dead for weeks.

My other 2 monti's are doing fine and have not turned pale at all. Just this tiny frag of sunset. I'm certainly not worried about it, just an observation I have made and didn't correlate temps until I read this thread.

Thought it might have been some anecdotal evidence to supports the OP's thoughts.

 

[madweazl]

Our monti cap is one of the first things in the tank to show signs of issues (we have one acropora that reacts faster). In the past couple of years, it has paled out a handful of times. A couple of those I was able to attribute to lighting, one to a magnet corroding in the sump, and the other two were a total mystery. It has recovered each time.

 

[homer1475]

Funny you mention your monti as your "canary in a coal mine". I use my gorgonian as mine. Anytime something is weird it's the first coral to not open up in the morning.

 

[Ds04384]

Alkalinity difference between the aquariums ? And lighting
Off topic but is that bubble alge in the pic ?

Yea it is bubble algae, currently fighting it in both tanks

 

[Will Wohlers]

Montipora turning pale from low magnesium is a very real and common occurrence. Not saying that's going on here but it's definitely a possibility.

 

[DesertReefT4r]

Montipora will fade and have greyish tint if its a mag issue. OP your pics is not super great but from what I can tell it looks like a light issue. Paling from too much light. Could you give us some info on the lighting on the 2 tanks?

 

[Ds04384]

Montipora will fade and have greyish tint if its a mag issue. OP your pics is not super great but from what I can tell it looks like a light issue. Paling from too much light. Could you give us some info on the lighting on the 2 tanks?

Yea sorry for the bad pic, just a quick snap on my phone. I can try to get a better one. The tank with the healthy monti is a 24 gallon nanocube with a xr30 gen 3 pro. It’s hanging about a foot over the tank and turned to around 40% (I forget the exact percentage but it’s not above 50). Tank with the unhealthy monti is a 40 breeder and has two black box LEDs hanging about a foot above the water. Blue channel is turned to about 50% and white is as low as it goes before shutting off completely.