yellow pagoda coral

[RhondaJ32]

I bought a yellow pagoda last week. Does anyone know if they require the same care as the regular brown ones? I have had a brown one for 5 years and it was actually near death when I took it on to try to save. It is now about the size of a small plate. So it is doing well. The yellow one still isn't opening real well. I have the brown one at the top of the tank and it seems to love it there. Do the yellow ones like as much light?

[tubs]

Rhonda,

Is this one of the bright gaudy yellow pagodas we've been seeing lately? If so I hate to break it to ya but these yellow pagodas being sold in the market are dyed corals. They are for some reason popular in Japan and exporters decided to try the US market. It is the same exact coral as the brown one you have and you can expect to keep the yellow color anywhere from 1-4 weeks.

I myself didn't think I'd fall for such a thing and if you look at on of the TRA book covers there is a yellow pagoda in there so I thought to myself that this could be real.

So needless to say the care would be the same and the question probably would just be a matter of acclimation.

[RhondaJ32]

I have heard of different corals being dyed though. That will really upset me because I paid for it like it was a yellow. I got it from a large Echo systems here. They have a large one in their tak for about 2 or 3 weeks and it is still yellow. So I will keep my hopes up. Thanks for replying.

[tubs]

Yeah I was pretty upset myself since I also paid a steeper price. But I really wasn't upset with the price as much as I was for not being smarter about it. Oh well.

Mine didn't last a week till it started browning up. One of the LFS here were hearing reports of the same so we all came to the conclusion that they were fake.

But like I said there is a yellow one on one of the TRA covers so there may be a chance but for those over here in the Bay Area that I know got one didn't stay yellow.

[Toadally]

I saw one just this afternoon. They are a bright yellow.....too bad it won't last.

[RhondaJ32]

I keep looking at this coral to see if I see signs that it is brown underneath. I knew that some corals were being dyed but I had no idea that Pagodas could be dyed. Thanks for informing me so I can keep a watch out. I will be so upset if it is brown because I paid twice as much for it to be yellow and I already have a hugh brown one. Do you know if the yellow ones are solid yellow or will they have some discoloration, like different shades of yellow. This one does have a few brown spots so I am thinking maybe it is brown and the dye is wearing off. I wander how they dye corals without hurting them.

[tubs]

Hi Rhonda,

They soak the corals in water full of food grade dyes. It's been done for years like the yellow sebae anemones you occasionally see.

Wholesalers should pretty much know right away if corals are dyed because some of the dye leaches out into the water coloring the water as well.