Color grafting in caps, any experience?

[Piper27]

So when a "Monti cap" takes color from another "cap" what is the procedure to keep the color? If it gets stressed out will it loose the color? When is the best time to frag that section? I am guessing the best thing to do is frag it and let it heal, then go about seeing if frags of that piece will stay colored in different systems? I really don't want to frag this one at the wrong time. Any info from someone who has experience with this would be apreciated.

[Piper27]

Also kinda wierd because the new color is pinkish red and it's not the traditional lines painted through pattern. It's just one patch that fades into the original color of the coral. I always thought grafting could only happen with green?

[franklypre]

Red/pink/orange monti cap can change color under different lighting, as well there are multiple species that are considered "caps". I have 2 red/orange monti "caps" of different species that have grown together and one is causing necrosis on the other rather than fusing, the same cap that is losing the battle is fusing perfectly with a green monti cap in my frag tank. I think what you are experiencing is just a color change due to lighting

[Piper27]

I dunno it's a green with white polyp and a blue rim and has been forever. Now it's touching a purple one and red one and one spot where it's touching it turned pink and also the center has turned the same color in one spot. Where it's turned colors the white polyps of the original coral look the be pink as well.

[Big E]

Corals can migrate naturally & they don't have to even be the same coral. It's the pigments that migrate in, not the whole skeleton of another coral. It's not color specific from what I know.

Grafting to me is different than migration.........grafting is growing two corals together versus actual pigments migrating.

This one happened naturally in my system.........I'm not even 100% sure which coral the green came from. I cut a frag cross wise so the green can grow from both ends.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/EdFink/orangecap3-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/EdFink/capfrag87.jpg

Can you post a pic of what your cap looks like? I wouldn't frag it unless it's healthy.

[Piper27]

Here is a shot of it a few months back
http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x360/paulstatstuff/monti-1.jpg

Here is a recent shot where it looks like it has taken some color from one of the caps near it or something.
http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x360/paulstatstuff/graftedmonti.jpg

I dunno what happened but I hope it sticks, looks cool to me but a little odd.

[Chaotic Reefer4u]

Really nice montis ...

[Frick]

Usually "grafting" you see on SPS is done by accident. I don't think any of those four Montis shown are true capricornis. You may have had the florescent proteins wander over to that colony. You can tell better with only your actinics on or a UV flashlight.

Like Big E said true grafting is physically putting two colors of the same corals together and successfully getting them to grow together as on. I have seen this more with LPS coral more than anything. I have not seen a true graft with SPS before. If they are the same species but different colors they usually just tolerate each other not grow together.

[Piper27]

Yea I would guess it's a color that it got from a neighbor. So the monties that are sold as grafted ones still look like they had just exchanged colors, like the posters image above. So these birdsnest grow together without stinging each other and combine skeletons, that is more of a "graft" I guess then. Whatever situation I think it's awesome to see it happen in my own tank :)