Hydophora

[ecobalance]

Not sure if the spelling is correct,but is there any special care tips for this coral.I got a real nice bright green one and would like to put it in my soft coral tank.It's a 75 gal with a 260 compact floresent and a 30 long refugium.The nitrates are perty stable at 20,and has mushrooms,star polyps,and a bubble coral...................O ya and about 12 small fish.

 

[kevinpo]

Hello,
Hydnophora is typically found in the hobby in 2 forms; encrusting and branching. The branching type does best in a high light and flow environment. The encrusting type somewhat less. Both are capable of producing mesenterial filaments that will digest nearby (within 2") corals. Be sure to leave plenty of space around it. A hardy coral that can grow .5" a month.
Be aware that some types of soft corals can produce chemicals that will be harmful to SPS.

Regards,
Kevin

 

[redrooster]

Ditto all that he said. Mine has done great in high light medium flow, but high flow would probably be better. And it will burn the sh*t out of anything it touches. Be careful.

 

[returnofsid]

With power compacts, you'll probably need to keep it pretty high in the tank, close to the lights. These typically need T5 or MH lighting. Although, I've kept a few SPS under PC lighting for awhile and they did great. They did much better when I upgraded tanks and upgraded to T5 lighting.

 

[zenn]

I've had a hydnophora frag for some about 3 months. It was originally neon green in color. Then it slowly turned to a light brown. This begs the question that I must be doing something wrong. I have 250w MH bulbs and high flow, so I don't think it'd be either one of those things. However, I recently came to the realization that I wasn't balancing CA/Alk correctly. I'm currently remedying that with a calcium reactor. Can I expect the hydnophora to get it's neon green color back? Or is there another factor I've missed that's causing the brown color?

It gets verry fuzzy and otherwise seems to be in good health.

I hope i'm not hijacking the thread.

 

[kevinpo]

It gets verry fuzzy and otherwise seems to be in good health.

Hello,
It likely is

This begs the question that I must be doing something wrong.

Why would you think that? Coral coloration normally/usually has nothing to do with coral health. Changes in coral coloration is most often connected with lighting intensity and spectral output. The higher K bulbs (14,000K-20,000K) tend to promote more green and fluorescent coloration. Lower intensity lighting tends to darken SPS corals on average.
Extreme polyp extension can also mask the underlying coral coloration as the coral polyps are often a different color than the coral base tissue.

HTH,
Kevin

 

[zenn]

Hello,
It likely is


Why would you think that? Coral coloration normally/usually has nothing to do with coral health. Changes in coral coloration is most often connected with lighting intensity and spectral output. The higher K bulbs (14,000K-20,000K) tend to promote more green and fluorescent coloration. Lower intensity lighting tends to darken SPS corals on average.
Extreme polyp extension can also mask the underlying coral coloration as the coral polyps are often a different color than the coral base tissue.

HTH,
Kevin

I've always assumed neon green was it's natural color...and any kind of "browning" must mean it's not completely happy. I have had this hydnophora high in the rock structure, directly underneath a 10k Coralvue 250watt MH bulb. So it's getting very good light. SO you would say that its color is more an indication of the light it's receiving? Thanks for the help

 

[meitzler]

My experience with the neon green is, if you have it in too high of a flow area, the tenticles get longer and hide the bright neon green on the body. Stinging other corals is a real concern with hydrohpora. Otherwise relatively easy to keep in relation to other SPS.

 

[kevinpo]

SPS Corals do not have a natural color. They might have what you would call an average color which in the wild is lots of cream, tan, and brown. Most SPS in the wild do not extend their polyps during the day but learn to do so in the home aquarium.
I would say the change in coloration in your case is due to light intensity/spectrum. Try moving it out from directly under the bulb or down 8-10".

Regards,
Kevin

 

[meitzler]

OK. What should can I do to stop the hydrophora from extending its polps during the day. I would love to be able to do, since its body is a very vibrant neon green and it is growing rapidly.

 

[kevinpo]

What should can I do to stop the hydrophora from extending its polps during the day.

It is not really possible/desirable to prevent corals from extending their polyps.

Regards,
Kevin