Miyagi tort browning or color shifting?

AFHokie · Oct 9, 2022

I got this miyagi tort two weeks ago from one of my LFSs. Since I’ve had it it’s had good PE and generally seems happy but there’s been a definite loss of the blue green coloring.

I’ve read lots of instances where people are keeping them at PAR as low as 150 with lots of green so I figured mine would be similar. It’s around 160-170 PAR of AB+ from an XR15.

The LFS does not measure PAR but uses T5s exclusively and this frag was nicely colored in a very mixed frag tank.

Is this change browning out or just color shifting? Too much light? Is it just adapting to my tank?

Pics from day after I purchased it to now. The newer pic was taken about an hour later in the light cycle so it’s slightly less blue lighting.

I’ll try and snap a pic tomorrow at the same exact time that the first one was taken.

Mark Novack · Oct 10, 2022

Color change or loss is normal for most acropora frags when changing habitats and two weeks is about the right time to notice it. Watch the growth over the plug. That will tell you more about its health than color. My Mr. Myagi is also low in the tank with medium lower light and its slower but fine. It has taken about 4 or 5 months to start returning to photo colors now that the base building phase is solid and branching is beginning. This coral has good color fidelity and should come back naturally.

AFHokie · Oct 10, 2022

Mark Novack said:
Color change or loss is normal for most acropora frags when changing habitats and two weeks is about the right time to notice it. Watch the growth over the plug. That will tell you more about its health than color. My Mr. Myagi is also low in the tank with medium lower light and its slower but fine. It has taken about 4 or 5 months to start returning to photo colors now that the base building phase is solid and branching is beginning. This coral has good color fidelity and should come back naturally.

Thank you for that very reassuring answer. I knew there would be color shift based on lighting change but didn’t expect it to lose color and then regain it.