Transparent Zoas

[jblue]

I have some kedds reds that are growing and multiplying, but their color seems to be fading. There is still a red ring, but the rest is getting really light and almost see through. I'd assume they were dying if they weren't growing so well. All my other zoas and corals look fine. Any idea what would do this?

Thanks,
Jeff

[Merkurfan]

need some more info. tank setup, lighting, current water test results.

Kinda sounds like low light, but at this point its just a wild guess.

[jblue]

3 gallon tank. BoostLED plus compact fluorescent. No water testing, but ~1 gallon/week water change. My sps are doing fine with the light and the kedds are just a couple inches deeper than those. Could it be too much light? I've also been running the magnesium a little high to kill off some bryopsis. Could that be part of it? It's odd because the color of everything else is great. I don't really have anything else that's red though. Could it be just a poor spectrum for red zooxanthellae?

[Jace]

maybe you're bleaching them..? is it possible to bleach zoa's?

[Merkurfan]

no, but lack of light or poor water quality will cause color loss.

[ArstenA]

I have some zoas that sometimes have transparent "babies". Once they get larger they color up.

[jblue]

They are all pretty small, but they are multiplying. Do old polyps ever shrink in order to create new ones? I went from 2-3 to about 12 in a couple months, but most are around 1/8". The original ones certainly haven't gotten any bigger an may have gotten a little smaller. Do new polyps not necessarily mean healthy coral?

[Becky]

Iodine is key in zoas IMO if urs die I have a frag u can have

[jblue]

Thanks for the offer! I don't think they'll die, since they've been growing so well. I'm just a little confused by the paradoxical grown and color loss. Maybe I'll try a little iodine and see if that makes a difference.

Iodine is key in zoas IMO if urs die I have a frag u can have

[NickMan]

i was under the impression that it is possible to bleach any photosynthetic coral.

[Nanofins]

Zoas can bleach. It sounds to me like they are getting too much light. The decrease in size and loss of color would support this. Large shifts in Mag can also cause some corals to lose color temporarily. The fast growth might be attributed to the high light as well, though whether it's a healthy growth or "escape" growth is hard to say (my guess would be the latter given the other symptoms).

[Username not found]

no, but lack of light or poor water quality will cause color loss.

isnt color loss bleaching?