Howzit everyone.

Just wanted to know what anybodies personal oppinions where on the colouration of SPS?
Like phosphate levels, lighting, supplements etc.

My monti's aren't the vibrant colours I feel they could be and where. Could it be Citroen Gobies spawning amongst them?

thanx, Daniel

I don't know much about saltwater, but I am posting so you don't
think you are being ignored. We need a saltwater member!

Maybe Lionfishy can help you......

howdy

ok, so what am i??, lmao

browning is due to the zoox (zoo = relationship with the animal, and xanth = gold), which is primarily brown in color. They have pigments of different chlorophylls (a=blue green and c2 = light green), peridinin (red), beta-carotene (orange), and diadinoxanthin (yellow), which make brown when they are combined. If you are feeding the zoox (algae - a dinoflagellate?) with excess nutrients, then you will see the more brown color. the zoox cycle food to the coral (and zoox have controls they utilize), so, too many nutrients, then there would be an increase in growth of the zoox/algae....creating the brownish look.

The colorful pigments that we love in sps are also in the tissue of the coral, now this tissue is only two cells deep (very thin) so when you get a population increase of zoox it will cover the pigments that are in the tissue and a increase in population can be from higher neutrience

lighting can also have an impact, not enough light can cause the SPS's to "brown out" and to much light can cause them to "bleach"
Photosynthesis makes up most of the coral's requirements so if you have poor lighitng and a neutrient free tank, they can still "brown out"

with monti's they are a moderate light coral, so you dont need lighting like i have to keep them, now i recomend halides to most everyone into SPS's but sometimes that cant be done

as far as feeding, since we are talking about SPS's Photosynthesis will usually give you all you need, i have never fed any of my SPS's, but i have a lot of light also

what are your param's @ and what lighting do you have and how far from the lighitng is/are the coral/s

this monti has totally diff req than this Tenius





HTH
Jay