Monti cap color?

[Sammamishtank]

I have a monti-cap that is supposed to be green with purple tips but it has gone completely purple. It looks healthy and happy other than the color change. Do you think it's getting too much light, not enough light, or something else entirely? The only other monti I have is an Idaho Grape and it is a nice dark purple as it should be.

 

[returnofsid]

I once had a frag of Purple M. digitata, that I'd accidentally broke from the mother colony, turn green, after moving it to the other side of the tank. I set it on a piece of rock, across the tank from the mother colony, and it encrusted, purple, and started to grow. About a month later, I noticed a small portion of it was green. Pretty soon, the green grew like mad and I had a green M. digitata. I'd never owned green M. digitata. No one was ever able to explain how it happened...lol. It was at the same elevation, in the tank, as the purple mother colony, so was getting the same amount of light. The only thing I could see different was that the frag was getting slightly more flow than the mother colony.

 

[saltwaterfishes]

That's really interest that it completely changed color. I have a stylo that was blue and now pink/light purple. I have a small frag of green cap with purple trim you can have to see if it will change color again.

 

[meemoo]

I have some SPS corals in my tank under (2) 250 watt Metal Halides and had to break my tank down due to a leak and hold the corals in a temporary tank that was smaller so I only used one of the Metal Halides and I noticed that alot of my SPS changed colors. Green polyps appeared on one of them and the other that was a blue tort turned green at the base and blue at the tips.

 

[Sammamishtank]

Thanks for the comments and the offer. After doing more research we are going to try moving it to an area with a bit more flow. I'm sure it's just a matter of tweaking the environment until it is happy with it.

 

[Sammamishtank]

Monti Cap Color

I moved it higher in my tank and it is slowly starting to turn green again!

 

[glasscabbage]

so do you think light or current is to blame, or a combination?

 

[Sammamishtank]

I think maybe it was a combination because since moving it up in the tank to a place where it gets more light and more flow it has gone back to a really pretty green with purple edges just as it should be. It has also grown a ton.

 

[lvsuckerfish]

what tank light did it come from and what lighting do you have?

 

[returnofsid]

When my digitata changed colors, from bright purple, to bright green, as I mentioned above, light played no factor. The original purple M. digitata was broke, when I was messing in the tank. I moved the broken piece to the other end of the tank, but at the same distance from the lights. Flow in each side of the tank was definitely different though.

It could also have something to do with Zooanthella from surrounding corals.

 

[vegita51]

When my digitata changed colors, from bright purple, to bright green, as I mentioned above, light played no factor. The original purple M. digitata was broke, when I was messing in the tank. I moved the broken piece to the other end of the tank, but at the same distance from the lights. Flow in each side of the tank was definitely different though.

It could also have something to do with Zooanthella from surrounding corals.

Have you looked into the Green Fluorescent Protein thing? It sounds like that could of happened to you. I believe it has happened to a couple of my corals.

 

[Madmike]

does the green fluorescent happen to montis also? only seen it in acro's before?

 

[Sammamishtank]

Still green and healthy, even after a move. Light and current do not appear to have been a factor, even two broken pieces are thriving following the move and situated in different places in the tank.