zooxanthellae and color

[Mojorizn]

Ok. After a forum search and some Google-ing, here we are.

 

Lets talk about zooxanthellae, it's relationship with color and what it means to you/us/me.

 

Back up your statements with links to articles if possible please.

 

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So, the more zooxanthellae a coral contains, the more brown or yellow the coral will become ...?

 

More light = more zooxanthellae production?

This doesn't make sense to me, as tanks with high lighting would contain browned out corals.

 

Corals use their "color" as a "sunscreen"...? ok, so now high light tanks have more color....

 

Tanks that get "fed" have better coloration...

ok what about the tanks that "I never feed" having eye popping color?

 

I'm confused as heck. Point me in the right direction.

 

looking for the "Big Dogs" on this one ....

[Lawnman]

Tagging because I don't understand it either.Specially with RBTA

[TheWAND]

the way i see to work is that corals fed with less supplements (aminos, etc) need to use more zooxanthellae to produce enough energy to live and grow. this is why coral color supplements like zeovit usually have amino additives. the zooxanthellae will appear in less density on (under?) the flesh of sps and allow the actual color of the coral to be better displayed. in other words, the amount of zooxanthellae produced is based on necessity?

 

again, not sure if my answer is right or makes any sense.

[Mojorizn]

There was a good article on this in Reef Keeping Magazine, but I can't find it.

 

The "coral color" forum search brings back suggestions form all angles and "try this" or "try that" with no clear answers as to WHY.

 

WAND - makes sense, but what about tanks that don't have a medicine cab of supplements?

[Mojorizn]

Here's a little food for thought,but no clear answer.

 

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-01/atj/index.php

 

Some more food in 7 (yep 7) parts:

 

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-08/eb/index.php

[sogreedy23]

from what i can remember (i've got no links or anything), the coral feeds off the glucose produced by the zoo, but the extreme colors we all see and love is from the coral trying to protect itself from the extreme light, kind of like the when we get tans, its used to protect our cells. thats why under bluer and stronger lights the colors seem to fluoresce even more.

**disclaimer, i could have remembered incorrectly or completely made it up, thats my .02**

[Mojorizn]

So then the more zoo a coral contains the more brown it will be...uh noo

If a coral expels all it's zoo it will become white or "bleached" ...uh yes.

 

So the zoo is responsible for coloration ... uh maybe

[Lawnman]

So how do you encourage a coral to regain its zoo?Food and light?How do you know why it lost it in the first place?

[Mojorizn]

Lack..sheep / Fossi / Prop

 

Where ya at?

 

Bestow some knowledge on the undeserving...

 

"if you book them they will come"

[driftsaru]

All hail king fossi .......uh where is he ?! I need to know this too before I blow another crazy amount on equipment.

[Lawnman]

Haven't seen Fosi in a while. He promised to still stop in a say hi after he got out. He is not holding up to that.

 

Lack..sheep / Fossi / Prop

 

Where ya at?

 

Bestow some knowledge on the undeserving...

 

"if you book them they will come"

Are you talking about the Prop that got banned a while back?Man I miss that guy he was a wealth of information.

[Mojorizn]

The Propagator. Isn't that the gent with the "Super Hero" avatar?

 

Give it a couple days, the big heads will enlighten us with their wisdom.

They are just giving us a chance to find our own answers and then confirm how wrong we really were...lol

 

*lighting a candle by the tank*

 

btw, I don't have an issue, so to speak...I just wanna know.

[Lawnman]

Yes the Propagator was awesome.His thread showed me how to ship.His frag tank was off the hook.He always had ways of fixing coral problems with stuff around the house LOL and it worked.

[blasterman]

Corals like SPs want as few zooxanthellae as possible because the more zooxanthellae means more competition within the coral itself for nutrients. This is why high nitrate or nutrient levels will kill SPS - the zooxanthellae get out of hand and start stripping resources from the coral and starving it. Phosphate in particular can do this in very low concentraions. More light = fewer required zooxanthellae (or a thinner density) and hence the coral has less trouble regulating them. It's the trade off SPS has made to out-grow it's competitors.

 

Since LPS typically has slower growing and denser skeletons zooxanthellae can be allowed to get out of control because increased activity doesn't really bother the coral - to a point. Softies obviously have the higest tolerance of high nutrients and most varies lighting requirements because zooxanthellae have a much higher density.

 

Many articles on this in Advanced Aquarist, etc. Best way to see how dense zooxanthellae re is to view your tank with a simple flashlight. The more brown/orange your corals are the more zooxanthellae they contain.

[Nano sapiens]

While we are waiting for the 'Big Boys'...

 

So, the more zooxanthellae a coral contains, the more brown or yellow the coral will become ...?

 

Zooxanthellae are a type of dinoflagelate and are brown in color. So if a coral's tissue were without pigment then yes the more zooxanthellae the more brown the coral would appear. Fortunately for us, a coral's tissue has pigment which can mask the brown, but doesn't always do so.

 

More light = more zooxanthellae production?

This doesn't make sense to me, as tanks with high lighting would contain browned out corals.

 

True, more light = more zooxanthellae, but only up to a point. Different species of coral have different light saturation thresholds, so beyond a certain intensity the coral can't cope with the increased zooxanthellae and it will expell the excess...or possibly replace part or all of the overproducing strain of zooxanthellae with a less prolific one.

 

Corals use their "color" as a "sunscreen"...? ok, so now high light tanks have more color....

 

Coral pigment and fluorescence may be influenced by a variety of factors, (UV levels, light intensity, nutrient levels, etc.). The prevailing wisdom is that high light intensity causes an increase in the coral's protective pigment as can be seen in many shallow water reefs. It may also be that the coral increases its pigment to reduce the amount and type of light that the zooxanthellae receive, thus keeping their numbers in check. Low nutrient levels further help to limit the amount of nutrition available to the zooxanthellae.

 

Tanks that get "fed" have better coloration...

ok what about the tanks that "I never feed" having eye popping color?

 

All tanks that have any kind of organic substances added are 'fed'. For example, corals in a tank with a substantial fish and/or invert population that receives food from the aquarist will get fed as a by product of the feedings. A tank without fish may need to have its corals fed in order for them to grow and thrive. In each case, the coral's colors can stay bright if the tank remains nutrient poor through the proper use of carbon, skimming, etc.

[Mojorizn]

Now we are getting somewhere ....Great info in both posts.

 

Starting to come together....

 

Lawman / drift ...ya'll gettin this also?

[glennr1978]

simple...

 

more light = more sunscreen = more color.

 

that's why higher lighting in the right spectrum produces brighter more vibrant colors in coral. it's all about the sunscreen man!

[sogreedy23]

Coral pigment and fluorescence may be influenced by a variety of factors, (UV levels, light intensity, nutrient levels, etc.). The prevailing wisdom is that high light intensity causes an increase in the coral's protective pigment as can be seen in many shallow water reefs. It may also be that the coral increases its pigment to reduce the amount and type of light that the zooxanthellae receive, thus keeping their numbers in check. Low nutrient levels further help to limit the amount of nutrition available to the zooxanthellae.

 

this is the part i was trying to get to, you're better with words though lol

[TheWAND]

simple...

 

more light = more sunscreen = more color.

 

that's why higher lighting in the right spectrum produces brighter more vibrant colors in coral. it's all about the sunscreen man!

this is false. advanced aquarist had an article on the scientific finding that the "sunscreen" corals use to shield from UV's is actually colorless. read all about this "sunscreen" theory in the LED thread in the sps keepers forum on rc.

[driftsaru]

Now we are getting somewhere ....Great info in both posts.

 

Starting to come together....

 

Lawman / drift ...ya'll gettin this also?

 

what the balls is going on....

[Trick]

Basically the less zooxanthellae SPS have, the more colorful they appear, as long as the light is powerful enough to sustain them with a minimal amount of zooxanthellae. ?

 

So if you have powerfull lighting but high nutrients at the same time you will get a zooxanthellae explosion right? and then the zooxanthellae will sap the corals nutrients, and you will have to get rid of the excess zooxanthellae somehow. I guess this is where vodka dosing comes in?

[Mojorizn]

This is what I'm getting.

 

Good lighting in the proper spectrum ( towards the blue as I've read ) and low nutrients will enable the coral to "reveal" it's best color.

 

In a nutshell more or less. Now how each achieves that end is up to the individual.

 

Like I said, I don't have an "issue"...just wanna know.

 

Keep that info comin ...

[Akwarius]

There is a good article in the current issue of coral magazine that sort of demystifies zoanthellae as a primary food source for sps coral. Paraphrasing here, zoanthellae only provides glucose energy for a limited number of biological processes. The building blocks for growth are actually derived from planktonic food. The simplification of a coral reef as a "million little mouths" illustrates the importance of planktonic food. Pardon the oversimplification, but a healthy, well fed coral in clean water will display optimum color. Perhaps creating the conditions in which corals are less reliant on zoanthellae should be our primary goal. Though this is obviouslly easier said than done.

[Mojorizn]

Posting up some links sent to me by lakshwadeep...

 

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/feb2002/Feature.htm

 

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-01/atj/index.php

 

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Again, THANKS to all for the informative replies.

[chrisjj625]

What about amino acids? How do they play in.