coral zooanthella

[saltjunkie]

I hope thats the right spelling.
Anyway, what makes a coral lose it? And conversl, how do, and why do they get it back?
I had a nice green open brain. Then at work, we got in a bleached green open brain. it was twice as big as the original one i had. So i figured that I would try and save it. Well next thing i know, both are completely bleached.... So i keep them for a few moths, nothing changes. I pack up my tank and move to florida, and blam, the big green bleached one is opening up huge and red! The smaller green one is starting to gain a lil more green but not opening yet....
Why does/did this happen.
Rick

[Joaco]

I would say that the two most common causes would be:

-fast increase in temperature (e.g. very hot summer day 'boils' your tank)
-poor adaptation to a stronger source of light (e.g. you go from NO output to MH from one day to the next one)

Did you notice any changes in any of the other corals in the tank? and of course, did you make any changes that could explain it? or did you just add the second brain, did nothing else to the tank, and the first brain was affected?

Joaco

[PerryinCA]

Don't foget sudden changes in salinity or water hardness (alk/calcium...).

Its basically a response to shock. So anytime the environment changes quicly, it can respond in the fashion you have seen. When bleached...try to feed it as much as it will take to make up for loss of active photosynthesis.

-Perry

[saltjunkie]

ok , well im not sure why the new brain bleached, it was like that at the store when we got it. The second one, my original,may possible have been affected by heat.
But now, the first one I had has come back healthier than ever, and looks like a very nice red and green brain. My original coralhas some color too it but is not opening up at all. So hopefully with the recovery of the red brain this one will come around also.?