SPS polyp extension

[Shoreliner11]

I am a little concerned with how much my few sps colonies' polyps are extending. I know that with different species, there will be various amounts of polyp extension. I have small colony 2-3in wide that I got at the lfs with almost no color...it has since started to become bright teal which excites me but polyp extension is almost negligible. My other sps colonies/frags have polyp extension but nothing great. All lps in tank is looking amazing. Tank parameters are all in check, with calcium at 400ppm and dkh hovering right around 12(sometimes a little lower sometimes a little higher, but never strays far). I am installing a pH monitor this week being my usual test kit is fairly unreliable. I do have a refugium running opposite the tank to stabilize pH. Sorry for the long post, but in concluding I know that polyp extension can be caused by a combination of things but just wondering if theres anything I'm missing. I also dose coral and bio plankton every 3 days and the lighting is a de 250watt 20k mh. Thanks for your help.

 

[Shoreliner11]

Once I get home this evening I'll try to identify the two colonies with Corals of the World. Maybe the sp. will help.

 

[Anthony Calfo]

polyp extesion is not an indicator of coral health or ideal lighting in sps corals. More often, it is a function of water flow and/or feeding opportunities/habits.

You can test this by increasing or decreasing water flow experimentally... and even by puttin a spoon of sugar in the tank (a cheap trick some supplements use to make you think your corals are "responding" and growing thanks to their snake oil).

In LPS corals and anemones/polyps... exceptional polyp extension is in fact a sign of waning lights as the polyp stretches out in an attempt to catch the waning light from aging or dirty lamps.

Focus more on pigmentation and routine polyp cycles (modest extension is fine).

Anthony

 

[big t]

Have a look in the middle of the night, a lot of times they will really stick them out there when the lights are off.

 

[Anthony Calfo]

indeed... good point. And in such cases, the form/behavior indicates their function: corals with polyps extended at night are hunting for zooplankton. While corals with polyps open by day or randomly usually seek something else (bacteria, phyto-, nanoplankters, etc)

Ant-

 

[Shoreliner11]

Thanks for the replies. I'll try changing the flow a little first and see if that helps.

 

[NaH2O]

Here is a fun and informative thread we had about polyp extension a bit ago: Polyp Extension = Happy Corals?. I hope it serves as a nice supplement.

 

[Shoreliner11]

Thanks for the link. It was actually quite informative and answered some questions. After reading one question did arise, I have some small 3in colonies which I got from the lfs. One was almost completely bleached, and the other had some color but you could tell that it was faded once again. Neither of these corals has started to grow yet although they have colored up significantly. Granted I have one for about a month and the other for 2 weeks but with a stable calcium/alkality/pH/salinity and a consistent light cycle is the only thing I can do is wait? Does it just take a sps colony that has gone through significant stress a couple months to settle down and start growing again? Thanks.