Can anemones morph or fade?

[CRW Reef]

Curious what those whom own or have owned anemones think as to wether or not anemones can morph colors/appearance or take on traits of different anemones of a different color. Is it possible for anemones to change from one color or multi colors to a different color or several different colors? Does keeping several different types of anemones together run the risk of color or trait swapping? Can housing several of one type and smaller numbers of a different type result in a color changing or morphong of the smaller numbered ones?

Throwing this out there for thought......is it possible for anemones to swap zooxanthellae and result in morphing?

 

[Rumen]

Yes in my experience they do morph .. I have one sunburst together with a rose nem awhile back ... The sunburst started to lose its color sobI got rid of the rose ... now the sunburst is all black till this day. ..

 

[LeviK]

http://www.reef2reef.com/blog/quicker-than-a-ray-of-light-the-sunburst-anemone/

 

[LeviK]

How can a sunburst be 100% man made? Because they all morph so if your purchase sunburst is no longer the color of a sunburst pls don't get butt hurt that people flame you for trying to sell a sunburst. I personally have seen before and after pictures of a purchased sunburst locally in the springs that now looks like a full out rainbow with reds and purples so saying once a sunburst always a sunburst is a joke. They are all one type of nem, quadricolor.

 

[LeviK]

Yes in my experience they do morph .. I have one sunburst together with a rose nem awhile back ... The sunburst started to lose its color sobI got rid of the rose ... now the sunburst is all black till this day. ..

And if its all black its no longer a sunburst, maybe call it an eclipse or midnight nem and sell splits of it for 2k each

 

[Rumen]

http://www.reef2reef.com/blog/quicker-than-a-ray-of-light-the-sunburst-anemone/

This is awesome article. Thx for posting this...I knew it was my sol that faded the color ...it did to alot to alot of my corals. I picture of before and after to prove it..

 

[CRW Reef]

Levi how did the once sunburst now rainbow with reds and purples get that way? What kind of lightning was it under? Was it housed with other types of nems? *edited Is it possible or would you expect that if you put another sunburst in that same tank under the same conditions and lighting that the same thing would happen?

Is it possible the nem wasnt even actually a sunburst to begin with it just appeared a sunburst (not saying it isnt or wasn't a sunburst btw just curious the story behind the nem)?

So is it possible for that particular nem to morph back to looking like a sunburst you think?

 

[LeviK]

I would certainly think it can morph back. I know current lighting is led and have a feeling that something to do with a fuller spectrum from a good 20k mh bulb does more to give it the real orange etc. I had a rose that was deep red and dark red base that turned orangeish under 20k mh. Figuring out the rest is just fine tuning.

 

[LeviK]

Chad, thoughts on t5/led combo in place of mh for full spectrum and coloration of zoas since zoas and nems use the same stuff to color up?

 

[LeviK]

Levi how did the once sunburst now rainbow with reds and purples get that way? What kind of lightning was it under? Was it housed with other types of nems? *edited Is it possible or would you expect that if you put another sunburst in that same tank under the same conditions and lighting that the same thing would happen?

Is it possible the nem wasnt even actually a sunburst to begin with it just appeared a sunburst (not saying it isnt or wasn't a sunburst btw just curious the story behind the nem)?

So is it possible for that particular nem to morph back to looking like a sunburst you think?

Oh and the sunburst is a split from an original Colorado sunburst purchased for over 400 from gonzo I believe, I will find out more details but people I trust that saw it in person vouch for it being a true sunburst.

 

[jgonzz]

I don't believe I ever sold one in the springs

 

[LeviK]

OK so maybe not you, I have no clue but that's besides the point. You can't have something 100% man made that isn't a morph. So if it can morph to a sunburst it can morph to something else.

 

[LeviK]

What lighting do you use over yours?

 

[jda123]

They will look different under different lights. LED is no friend to BTAs, IMO. T5 is OK, but just OK. It is like any high end coral - would any of you expect to buy a browned out nub of a frag that I swore, and I swore that my friends who say it swore, was a Purple Monster from reefarmers? Nope. I needs to look the part even though I have receipts.

BTAs shine the best for me under 20K Radium, 14K Phoenix or 10K Ushio/XM and VHO Super Actinic.

 

[LeviK]

They will look different under different lights. LED is no friend to BTAs, IMO. T5 is OK, but just OK. It is like any high end coral - would any of you expect to buy a browned out nub of a frag that I swore, and I swore that my friends who say it swore, was a Purple Monster from reefarmers? Nope. I needs to look the part even though I have receipts.

BTAs shine the best for me under 20K Radium, 14K Phoenix or 10K Ushio/XM and VHO Super Actinic.

+1

 

[jda123]

I also had some awesome quadricolor under 4x VHOS (2 Super Actinics and 2 Actinic Whites). Amazing light setup for growth and color.

 

[CRW Reef]

So its of the opinion that anemones can not thrive under leds alone? Or how about one better under just blues 420 - 450 nm ? Anyone know of anyone with nice amazing anemones under LEDs? Lol

 

[LeviK]

I also had some awesome quadricolor under 4x VHOS (2 Super Actinics and 2 Actinic Whites). Amazing light setup for growth and color.

To clarify when you say quadricolor that technically includes rose bubble tips etc as they are all the same scientific named species.

 

[Jeremiah]

Well as you know Chad. I have (2) anemone. The first one is not very bright and never had the yellow tips (it was a really nice orange though). However from my discussions from the guy that i purchased it from in Parker(sean) he swears up and down it was purchased as an Sunburst anemone from Aqua Mart 3 years ago and he's had nothing but that 1st anemone that has split over and over in the tank so no mixing up. He has T5's and I don't think was ever good about changing them.

I am not much of a picture taker so stupid me I don't have any for compairison. However I sent that picture i sent you of my new 100% verified sunburst that i purchased from Ki next to his. His response to me was where is the one i sold you. After around 6-8 months in my tank it has DEFINATELY lost color. It is much more dark/dull...(regardless if it is/was a sunburst). He doesn't believe that the duller one is a picture of the one that he sold. So that goes to show you the distrust in this hoby about things like this. So if my new sunburst ends up dull and loses color after a year or so, what conversation do you think we will end up having then?

What I find interesting about that article is the following:
"LEDs seem to make the anemone loose its rich color and can even start to resemble a Lemon Drop BTA"
Lemon drop is more yellow, like yours is full on yellow under your LED's.

I've been told by Ki that the more mature they get the more yellow they get. So is it a combination of maturity of the parent anemone and lighting that gives it more yellow? One of the main things about that article is the fact that "This bad boy is ORANGE!". Not the fact that it has yellow tips...

Just a thought, but if we have Lemon drops and they are yellow...sunburst are orange with yellow tips. Maybe a lemon drop is a sunburst that has been kept under LED's for a long time...Sunburst is a lemon drop that has been kept under some combination of 20,000K spectrum with purple and actinic T5HO supplements.

So assuming that, maybe a rainbow kept under optimal lighting can fool people into thinking they are close to a sunburst. However once they go under LED's like in my tank they turn a less bright orange.

Disclaimer: not only do i run LED's, but they had been turned down really low. I'm slowly ramping up the lighting, but when i had the lighting up before I had some very upset zoanthids. This tank no longer has zoanthids that are going to be staying in it long term so i'm just hoping the euphylia can handle higher light.

 

[LeviK]

Well as you know Chad. I have (2) anemone. The first one is not very bright and never had the yellow tips (it was a really nice orange though). However from my discussions from the guy that i purchased it from in Parker(sean) he swears up and down it was purchased as an Sunburst anemone from Aqua Mart 3 years ago and he's had nothing but that 1st anemone that has split over and over in the tank so no mixing up. He has T5's and I don't think was ever good about changing them.

I am not much of a picture taker so stupid me I don't have any for compairison. However I sent that picture i sent you of my new 100% verified sunburst that i purchased from Ki next to his. His response to me was where is the one i sold you. After around 6-8 months in my tank it has DEFINATELY lost color. It is much more dark/dull...(regardless if it is/was a sunburst). He doesn't believe that the duller one is a picture of the one that he sold. So that goes to show you the distrust in this hoby about things like this. So if my new sunburst ends up dull and loses color after a year or so, what conversation do you think we will end up having then?

What I find interesting about that article is the following:
"LEDs seem to make the anemone loose its rich color and can even start to resemble a Lemon Drop BTA"
Lemon drop is more yellow, like yours is full on yellow under your LED's.

I've been told by Ki that the more mature they get the more yellow they get. So is it a combination of maturity of the parent anemone and lighting that gives it more yellow? One of the main things about that article is the fact that "This bad boy is ORANGE!". Not the fact that it has yellow tips...

Just a thought, but if we have Lemon drops and they are yellow...sunburst are orange with yellow tips. Maybe a lemon drop is a sunburst that has been kept under LED's for a long time...Sunburst is a lemon drop that has been kept under some combination of 20,000K spectrum with purple and actinic T5HO supplements.

So assuming that, maybe a rainbow kept under optimal lighting can fool people into thinking they are close to a sunburst. However once they go under LED's like in my tank they turn a less bright orange.

Disclaimer: not only do i run LED's, but they had been turned down really low. I'm slowly ramping up the lighting, but when i had the lighting up before I had some very upset zoanthids. This tank no longer has zoanthids that are going to be staying in it long term so i'm just hoping the euphylia can handle higher light.

Understanding you don't have a sunburst or lemon drop or rainbow, you have a quadricolor so whatever in the water made them absorb that coloration in the first place, can be lost and changed into different colors. This isn't like a fish.