Can you all help me with my photo ??'s

[mama]

http://i317.photobucket.com/albums/mm395/austinaquatics/SaltJuly08001.jpg
this was supposed to be PINK...I got it 2 weeks ago...will it color up?
http://i317.photobucket.com/albums/mm395/austinaquatics/SaltJuly08004.jpg
what kind of palys are these?
http://i317.photobucket.com/albums/mm395/austinaquatics/062408-084a.jpg
this is what I ordered 2 weeks ago from Live Aquaria...
http://i317.photobucket.com/albums/mm395/austinaquatics/SaltJuly08002.jpg
this is what I got!!!! HELP!!!!! Please tell me it will color up:cry_smile:

[dustint21]

I saw those and thought they looked very nice! Have you tried actinic light? I dont know for sure but i would think they would get some color back!

[mama]

I have only T5 lighting on all my tanks...it's an all or nothing thing...they said they take their photos under halide...is there THAT much of a difference?? This was my birthday gift and cost me $115!!!!

[zcatzmeow]

I have those greenish blue palys too, no idea what their name is.

For the most part, all my corals change color after they are in my tank awhile. I'd say the only things that have stayed true to color are: dendrophyllia, sun coral, t. crocea clams, kryptonite candy cane, fungia, and tubs blue zoos. Everything else starts going a little orange-y on me :( I've upgraded to metal halides w/actinics, and just recently started out ZeoVit.

If you find a solution, share!!! ;)

[reeferRob]

Somewhere on their website it should tell what lights were used, probably 20k MH or VHO actinic. Try those and see if they don't look closer.

The ricordia will also appear different shades and intensities under different lighting conditions.

[akm]

The ricordea I'm sorry to say, I doubt will color up. They are almost always orange and a true pink one I've rarely seen. They are still a great coral especially once you get a colony going. You should look into fragging since from just a single polyp it can tank a while for it to split or bud. You can just cut it in half with a razor, wait for them to heal up and grow some and just do it again.


The paly is really a protopalythoa but everyone just calls them playthoas. I don't think I've ever heard of someone identifying the exact species of something like this. "Zoanthid taxonomy is currently in a state of chaos, with many described species, very few of which can be reliably identified," wrote W.J. Burnett et al. That's from Eric Bornemans book "Corals," a must for pretty much any reefkeeper.

The Zoas do look like they should be able to color up, just remember that they need pristine conditions. That goes beyond just lighting. You said you had T5's. How many watts, what size tank, how deep is it, where in the tank are the zoas placed?

[mama]

Thanks akm!!! Great insight.
The ricordia is a pink rainbow from Mile High Aquatics...not mine!!

On the zoas...I have a 40g with a Power GLO 39W T5 HO light fixture.
The tank is 16" high with this rock near the very bottom....any suggestions??

Thanks everyone!!!!

[mama]

bump

[mama]

I bumped so the technical support team at liveaquaria.com could see the photo...they did understand that this is not what I thought I would receive and did give me a full refund on the zoas...kudos to them!!

[zcatzmeow]

Way to go LiveAquaria!

I've figured something out recently in regards to the rics and yumas. I switched out my SPS 150w 20k bulb for a Phoenix 150w 14k blue bulb. This is pretty blue bulb and gives your tank a different look...and for my tank it completely brought out the colors in my rics/yumas. My pink rics are PINK now and my orange rainbow has an extra color in it that I never noticed before. It's also changed the look of my zoos and I see much bolder colors than before.

This probably isn't the only way to really bring out the colors but I wanted to share :)

[mama]

Thanks Cory!! BTW...you are going on a field trip to my house soon!! I have just been crazy busy:whew:with one reason being I am in transition of taking down my 40g and putting it into a 46g bowfront. My buddies at River City are getting me set on more light fixtures, with the bulbs you mentioned!! But they agreed there was really no way at this time that poor ole zoa was going to go from this pukey pink to the royal blue I thought I was getting. I am really stumped on that one....:confused: Let's see how the additional lights look and I will post pictures, but I am sure I will freak everything out for a while by this transition....Wish me luck!!!!!! and I will PM when things look GOOD!!!

Laura

[ErikH]

The kelvin rating of the bulbs used is what changes the coloration via photograph. Granted you can correct this via white balance, but I'm sure their object was to get "what the eye sees", so based on Kelvin rating, this can easily change. The Phoenix 14ks are uber blue and alot of people that do not use actinics use them for that specific reason. I personally love them. Coloration of corals is dependent on overall conditions of the water, including light. Alot of zoas under high lighting conditions will have more white in them in comparison to those that are in areas of more subdued lighting.
HTH