Do corals need an excess of light to have a lot of coloration?

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ThatNewFishGuy

ThatNewFishGuy

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May 4, 2010
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I overheard something interesting at an LFS the other day. The guy was saying that the key to producing very colorful corals is to have a ton of light. Usually more so than the amount required for them to grow. He continued to say that the reasoning for this was because the corals produce those color pigments as a sort of defense mechanism to the strong light. I was thinking about how humans produce melanin as a defense against uv radatiation and from that point of view, what he said kind of made sense. Then again, I always thought giving corals too much light would just bleach them. I'm confused. What do you guys think?
 
greech

greech

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May 13, 2009
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Graham
That is correct but to an extent. The coral will eventually bleach under too much light, no way around it. Acclimation will only go so far until the coral reaches the point of no return.

There is a lot more too coral coloration than just lighting.

This is just one of many articles. Lots of attention being paid to flourescent pigments and their role.

http://pages.uoregon.edu/svetlana/FEBSJ.pdf
 
Khemul

Khemul

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Oct 14, 2010
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A lot of it depends on the coral itself.

Some corals color in response excess light. Some color in response to less light. Some color based on water chemistry. Some even color based on light spectrum (they absorb energy from the light and reflect the rest back at a lower wavelength).
 
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