Wellsophyllia Lost Color

[redfishblewfish]

I purchased the above LPS from a fellow reefer and when it arrived it had no color. Originally deep red/marone and yellow. My guess is that it expelled its zooxanthellae from being in a box for a couple days. It’s been in my tank for the past two weeks and it’s still white. Otherwise, it looks healthy....seeing good tentacle extension at night. Actually fed some silverside three days ago.

Is there anything I could do to help re-establish color?

[Ace25]

Rotifers maybe to get the little zooxanthellae left in it fed and multiplying? I know amino acids are know to help certain things, like coloring up some corals, but I tried it once and didn't have a good experience (major algae bloom) so I can't say I would recommend that. Oh ya.. lots and lots of time. I have found out several times it takes corals just a day or 2 to bleach or brown out and many months to regain their color.

[Amphiprion]

Keep feeding as you are and maintain good conditions overall. Right now, feeding is the most important element. It may be a good idea to feed every other day.

[thincat]

Rotifers maybe to get the little zooxanthellae left in it fed and multiplying? I know amino acids are know to help certain things, like coloring up some corals, but I tried it once and didn't have a good experience (major algae bloom) so I can't say I would recommend that. Oh ya.. lots and lots of time. I have found out several times it takes corals just a day or 2 to bleach or brown out and many months to regain their color.
I thought that "zooxanthellae" were fed by photosynthesis (your lights)?

[Ace25]

No, zooxanthellae use light to convert it into food to feed the coral they live in from my understanding. You still have the feed the zooxanthellae things like rotifers. I could be wrong about that though.

From Wikipedia


Zooxanthellae (plural, pronounced /ˌzoʊ.oʊzænˈθɛli/) are golden-brown intracellular endosymbionts of various marine animals and protozoa, especially anthozoans such as the scleractinian corals and the tropical sea anemone, Aiptasia.

Most are autotrophs and provide the host with energy in the form of translocated reduced carbon compounds derived from photosynthesis. Zooxanthellae can provide up to 90% of a coral’s energy requirements. In return, the coral provides the zooxanthellae with protection, shelter, nutrients (mostly waste material containing nitrogen and phosphorus) and a constant supply of carbon dioxide required for photosynthesis. Their population in the host tissue is limited by available nutrients and incident light, and by expulsion of excess cells.

Hermatypic (reef-building) corals have zooxanthellae and are largely dependent on them, limiting their growth to the photic zone. The symbiotic relationship is probably responsible for the success of corals as reef-building organisms in tropical waters. However, when corals are subjected to high environmental stress, they can lose their zooxanthellae by either expulsion or digestion and die. The process known as coral bleaching occurs when the zooxanthellae densities within the coral tissue become low or the concentration of photosynthetic pigments within each zooxanthella decline. Color loss is also attributed to the loss or lowering of concentrations of Green Fluorescent Proteins (GFP) from the cellular pigments of the cnidarian itself. The result is a ghostly white calcareous skeleton, absent of zooxanthellae, with the inevitable death of the coral unless conditions improve, allowing for the zooxanthellae to return.
See also: Coral Bleaching

Corals are under constant disturbance, which is ultimately felt by the zooxanthellae living within their tissue. Exposure to air during extremely low tides or damage from intensifying solar radiation in shallow water environments are some of the ecological stressors zooxanthellae face. Temperature changes have provided the most stress to the zooxanthellae-coral relationship. A rise in temperature of 1-2 degrees Celsius for 5–10 weeks or a decline in temperature of 3-5 degrees Celsius for 5–10 days has resulted in a coral bleaching event. Strong temperature changes shock the zooxanthellae and cause them to suffer cell adhesion dysfunction which sees the detachment of the cnidarian endodermal cells from the zooxanthellae.

[Amphiprion]

Zooxanthellae still feed themselves and are fully autotrophic. Exactly how "leaky" they are to the outside environment is decided by the corals, however. Also the energy requirements met by zooxanthellae are now understood to be lower, probably between 40-60% in most corals.