Rainbow acan help

[thompson2224]

I bought a 3 head piece of rainbow scan back in december and it was doing good and looked really colorful, and then a snail knocked it over and it got caught between two rocks. When I found it, it was very deflated but it made it back to health. That was back in January, but since then it hasn't really been colorful. Now it is basically all orange and red with no other colors. What can I do to get its colors back? I have it in the sand now with a little shade and lower flow

[Edstewart5]

My rainbow Acan is only rainbow where it is in almost complete shade on the side of the coral growing down the frag. Other than that, it is red and orange with small stripes of color.

[Randy15]

Yup. Acans gain color with low par and mostly blue, high "K" spectrum IME.

[thompson2224]

Okay so I should move it to a more shaded area?

[Randy15]

What type of lights do you run?

[geckoejon]

tagging along for this one. i have a couple frags of rainbows and half a dozen other colors of lords. seems like they all change color once they are in the tank for a couple months. my rainbows are still rainbows, it's just that the colors change some. for instance, my ultras now have a dark purple ring that they didn't have coming in. i bought some lords that were all red, and now they are red with orange centers and green stripes in the center. i need to get a good camera for close ups! lol the pics when bought and a couple months later would be cool to compare.

i think them changing color is just them adjusting to different types of light.

imo, doesn't seem right that they would go from rainbows just to a couple colors. that would be a bummer.

[thompson2224]

I run LED's on the tank more specifically the FLuval marine and reef capable LED. I am upgrading my tank this week up to a 72 gallon and am upgrading my lights as well to reefbreeder LED

[leveldrummer]

Okay so I should move it to a more shaded area?

Yes

[toddmau5]

I'm interested in this now, I had some standard orange acans that have now gone rainbow on me, mostly green, and I paid decent money for some rainbows that aren't rainbow anymore lol

[thompson2224]

Will the rainbow color come back?

[FWC]

Ya, move it to a darker part of the tank and feed it well, it should slowly start to gain its color back *with emphasis on slowly*

[geckoejon]

Ya, move it to a darker part of the tank and feed it well, it should slowly start to gain its color back *with emphasis on slowly*

i would have to respectfully disagree with this statement. the op stated that it was on the rocks, doing well, got not off and stuck in between rocks. then it lost color. seems like a good possibility that it lost color due to lack of light.

ime, i have found that acans gain color in my tank with direct light. i have a pair of rb photon 16's on my 75g and have them ramped up to 70% on both channels. i start my acans on the sand for a week, and then slowly move them up the rock face if i wish. i have multiple types that have gained in intensity and added colors being in direct light.

so, i would suggest putting the acans back into direct light towards the bottom of the tank, and then gradually move them up.

[Randy15]

Looks like your acans are mostly red. More light = red. Most rainbows are colored to there fullest potential under low par and high "k" spectrum IME. Not all I have a couple that do look better under slightly higher par ( still only in low 100's).

[Randy15]

Also. Shade isn't always the best bet. Acans need light to live/strive/color up. Ideally is direct, low intensity, blue light.

[geckoejon]

More light = red.

where did you get that theory from? just curious? i think that the type of lights, type of individual acan, and tank params would play a major part in if they are red. i don't think that it is true to make a statement like that.

ime, i have not seen that to be true. if you look at the middle picture. those acans have developed a sky blue ring towards the center that they did not have when i bought them. i also have another batch of acans that were all dark red with a purple outer ring when i bought them. they have now developed a sky blue ring towards the middle, the middle has turned orange, and also have green streaks.

i have several other examples currently in my tank, but i think that it's enough evidence for me to respectfully disagree with that statement.

[Randy15]

Been keeping high end acans for years. Trial and error, experience.

[Randy15]

Believe what you will. Just giving advice on what I've learned to try and help the person asking for help. Others seem to agree with me.

[ingtar_shinowa]

Alot of leds will cause acans to turn orange and lose much color. It's my belief that without low violet spectrum this is caused.

[nickdo]

Been keeping high end acans for years. Trial and error, experience.

Agree.
Most high end acan need low par and 400~500nm light.
but there are some exception for the non-aussie acan.

[geckoejon]

may i see some pics for reference? some specific examples would be nice...

i am going to start doing frags as they arrive and down the road pics. i think it would be a great thread!

the last pic that i posted are of some ausie acans that i got as a 2 head frag last novemeber. when i bought them, they were red and purple. as you can now see, the centers have turned green. the red is still very bright red and not orange.

i have not had any turn orange (other than centers) or just lose color. all my acans have added/changed color, but none to what you all are describing. so far they have added green, orange, yellow, purple, and blue in color once they are in the tank for a couple months.

maybe this is something that happens years down the road to acans?

your cases might be valid, but not in all situations. i think that tank setup, individual acans, and lights more than likely make a major difference.

[Randy15]

I'll try to give you an example but I have terrible pics lol.
269961
Same acan under low light
269962
(Not as inflated obviously, quick recent pic)

[Randy15]

Ps. Not photo shopped just terrible white balance from iPhone. Both taken with iPhone just a few models apart haha. You get the idea though.

[geckoejon]

thanks for sharing! that looks like a major difference! what kind of lights are you running? how long did it take to change color? did you get them when they were red and then they changed, or did they turn red and then change back when you switched lighting?

i need more info! lol i'm a curious guy :0) my acans are my favorite corals and just trying to keep them as beautiful as possible. mine haven't changed like that, at least not yet. any idea what the difference is?

[Randy15]

They were under my radiums run on hqi ballasts for over 8hrs a day when they got really red. Then I moved all my acans to my other tank to try and get color back. That tank is fed more heavily and lit by a less powerful bulb ballast combo that only runs 3 hrs a day. But I have a reefbrite that runs 12 hrs also, that gives me low par and that really blue spectrum that they seem to color up under. It took about 4 months or so for the drastic change. Not every acan is the same, just what I've noticed on most of my rainbows.

[Mael]

mine definitely seem brighter after a feeding (roti or mysis mixed with plankton), I also started my rainbow on sand, moved up and it is now on one of the lower rocks and seems to love it there, 2 new polyps forming already, orange middle, blue ring, red/blue outer part.

Waiting to see what happens with the purple/green one I added a cpl days ago.

(36" 4bulb T5, 2x blueplus, 1x purpleplus, 1x actinic)

I am also switching to LEDs in the next month or so and will start with low settings to acclimate.