Yellow leather Toadstool turning brown

[mrdss]

Originally Posted by whatcaneyedo

Mine was marketed as a gold fiji however the only Sarcophyton I've personally seen that was 'yellower' was a newly imported artificially dyed specimen. I'd like to believe this practice is no longer done but I don't know for certain. Zooxanthella is brown. The pigment that coral produce as a 'sunscreen' is coloured and so the shadowed areas of the tissue of coral is typically less vibrant and more brown than the heavily exposed areas.

Anyways:
250W Phenix 14K MH DE in LumenMax
Bottom
30x and indirect
78F
1.025
Ca +400ppm
Alk 9dkh
Mg 1350ppm
PO4 and NO3 undetectable with hobby kits but slightly higher than I would like.

Have you tried positioning it higher or middle and noticed a difference ? Tried different lighting ? Have you noticed anything that makes the Toadstool either lighter or darker ? You have the yellow in the middle so there is no doubt what it is. But the polpys are a tan color almost a light brown.



I will give you some more info. on my TRUE VIBRANT yellow toadstool. I was at a store and saw the most white toadstool that I have even seen. There were about 4 of them. I inquired if they were bleached and was told no. I was told they had been in the store about a month and had remained that color. I took the coral home and was disappointed that after a few weeks the while polyps were darkening up.

In less then a month the WHITE toadstool became the most BEAUTIFUL VIVID yellow that I have ever seen in person and with my own eyes.

As the weeks went on I noticed the yellow browning slightly only to get darker as the days went by. I eventually started playing with lighting and position and was starting to get the tan color back. I sold my aquarium and livestock shortly after.

I have talked to the person that bought the toadstool and it never got that yellow back but only a tan color. He gave me a small frag but it just disintegrated after a few short days.

Yellow toadstools are not hardy what so ever and will die if you look at it the wrong way.


In your picture the darkest areas that was what I was getting back the tan color before I sold everything off.