Brown SPS

[k20fa5]

I have been getting corals for my 24 NC and I have been noticing a lot of LFS that have smaller, brown SPS frags.  I'm guessing from talking to the employees that these were not taken care of and lost their color and turned brown.If I were to get one of these (for super cheap) and put under my 150 HQI, given good conditions will they ever come back to their pretty colors or always stay brown?  Will they just bleach out white and die off?Thanks for the help,Brian

[jonrx]

They should come around given good husbandry.

[DCG1286]

I have been getting corals for my 24 NC and I have been noticing a lot of LFS that have smaller, brown SPS frags.  I'm guessing from talking to the employees that these were not taken care of and lost their color and turned brown.If I were to get one of these (for super cheap) and put under my 150 HQI, given good conditions will they ever come back to their pretty colors or always stay brown?  Will they just bleach out white and die off?Thanks for the help,Brian

 

You can color them back up...I do it all the time...

High quality water, flow and proper lighting, you will bring them back in no time.

 

-David

[k20fa5]

That is good to know.  I have been seeing them from $7 up to $14.  I guess I need to pick up a few.Thanks guys,Brian

[davidr2340]

That is good to know.  I have been seeing them from $7 up to $14.  I guess I need to pick up a few.Thanks guys,Brian

Agreed... What do you have to lose? Take a gamble for that price, and who knows... You may end up with some sweet pieces!!!

[Burks]

They will recolor provided the requirements are met as mentioned above.

 

The LFS I go to is going to order two brown pieces in for me, at rock bottom prices. Just want to see if I can turn them around and see what colors I get.

[WindCloudWRX]

I had a piece similar, it fell and the side not exposed to sun has yellowed, and overall it has browned. But I see a lot of polyp extension so I hope with time it'll be fine.

 

Thanks.

[ironmics]

I figured I'd try to color up a brown birdsnest I got for 8 bucks...but the problem is that I think it's just a brown birdsnest lol. It grows great and it's lighter brown now, but I think it's just brown. I got a huge monti cap for 10 bucks at the same time that's a nice yellow/green and further from the lights, so the nest is definitely getting enough light.

[halberstram]

whats wrong with brown? In nature not all corals are crazily colored... we are trying to replicate nature, no?

[fierceseaman]

Some times, things are just brown. Probably more often than not.

[wesleytf]

Some times, things are just brown. Probably more often than not.

 

true, but the brown ones are less likely to be collected, so you have a good shot at getting cool colors if you do it just right. Some need to be SLAMMED with 10k or lower light to color up. My cuirrent fav. acro was brown as all hell, but is now bright purple with green corralites and polyps. cost me $5!

[organism]

Some of the nicest sps that I've seen have come from el cheapo lfs browned out frags. Usually you can see a tiny bit of color on the body or on the polyps, and generally they weren't very brown to begin with so they'll turn into something cool eventually.

 

The main thing is to make sure that there aren't any pests on them, lfs usually have these frags sitting around in their tanks for a while, and most don't quarantine or dip...

[wesleytf]

Some of the nicest sps that I've seen have come from el cheapo lfs browned out frags. Usually you can see a tiny bit of color on the body or on the polyps, and generally they weren't very brown to begin with so they'll turn into something cool eventually.

 

The main thing is to make sure that there aren't any pests on them, lfs usually have these frags sitting around in their tanks for a while, and most don't quarantine or dip...

 

bingo. great advice. I might have to invest in some brownie frags....