Neon green lepto placement

[george9]

Hi all,
having a bit of trouble placing a new green lepto frag I received about a month ago. I have a jack o lantern that’s growing very well and spilling over its frag plug near the bottom of the rockwork in lower light. I started the neon green lepto nearby under an overhang in low light but this was too shaded as the most shaded parts of it began to fade. I moved it higher on the rocks in more direct light and it was fine for a couple weeks but again I am noticing a bit of fading near the edges where it cannot receive enough light. The parts being blasted by light are vibrantly green and look beautiful.


I attached a couple pics showing the isolated areas of fading. I am not sure if I should leave it alone and hope the parts in higher light take off (which still look good) or if I should tinker some more and move it around to get the entire thing in lighting it likes although that may be impossible given the shapes/angles of my rocks and the fact that I have LEDs which create shadows.

Water params are ruled out with this one as all of my other corals are growing like weeds (including my other lepto) so it seems to be down to placement.
Salinity - 1.026
phos - .08
nitrate -5 ppm
calcium - 430ppm
alk -9.0
mag - 1250 ppm
temp - 77-78

thanks in advance!

 

[tbrown3589]

I don't know. Each coral is different so you'll just have to find what works best for yours but my neon green Lepto wouldn't do anything sitting in muted lighting. Once my monti cap grew and shaded it fully it exploded with growth.

Almost a year's growth. The second picture is this past February. It's significantly larger now but I switched it to a different tank last week so it looks different. Probably almost doubled since February.

 

[george9]

I don't know. Each coral is different so you'll just have to find what works best for yours but my neon green Lepto wouldn't do anything sitting in muted lighting. Once my monti cap grew and shaded it fully it exploded with growth.
View attachment 2875732View attachment 2875731
Almost a year's growth. The second picture is this past February. It's significantly larger now but I switched it to a different tank last week so it looks different. Probably almost doubled since February.
View attachment 2875733

beautiful

What kind of light was your lepto in before your monti shaded it?

 

[tbrown3589]

beautiful

What kind of light was your lepto in before your monti shaded it?

It was in a 5 gallon with a 30 watt Nicrew running 0% white channel, 100% blue channel.

 

[george9]

I just moved it to an area of slightly lower light. Im just confused as to why it’s turning lighter/bleaching on the lower areas rather than upper areas where more light is received.

Maybe those two areas are the parts I gripped too hard when placing the coral? I placed it weeks ago though…

Either way, going to leave it alone for a bit and let it do its thing now

 

[tbrown3589]

Sounds good. It's definitely a possibility. Our fingers have grease/oil on them and can damage corals. Using pinchers can scratch the corals removing flesh. My Hulk Lepto isn't happy right now so I moved it a little lower and it looks like it could be recovering. It's always a wait and see game.

 

[george9]

It’s been about a month so I figured I’d update this thread.

Since moving the coral it cotinued to fade and then brown in some areas. It’s very strange to see a faded area spread around the coral and then slowly turn brown and then slowly get the neon green color back. It seems like a cyclical thing almost. Fading > browning > recoloration

I stopped fussing and I see a few mm of growth over the super glue happening so I am not going to touch it at all. It’s not as vibrant as it could be and still faded/brownish in some areas but I think the growth is a good sign at least! Going to continue to monitor for changes. My jack o lantern was not nearly this fussy lol