Kenyan Tree is pale

We acquired this kenyan tree and it was purple and gorgeous. Lately I have been having no luck with it. It is thin, pale and remains dumped over. How can I get it to gain it's color and grow?

 

Have you been feeding it, and if so, what and how much? Kenya trees are not completely non-photosynthetic, but do rely less on their zooxanthellae and more on frequent feedings with microplankton, marine snow, etc., while maintaining good water quality.

 

I have been giving it Kent Marine Microvent. That is usually done via broadcast.

 

From Kent Marine:

"Target feeding individual animals is the most efficient method. Using a KENT Marine SeaSquirt, dispense food where it will flow over animal.

For best results, alternate use with KENT Marine PhytoPlex, KENT Marine ChromaPlex, and KENT Marine Coral Accel to provide the nutrient variety readily available in their natural habitat."

http://www.kentmarine.com/products/kent-microvert.htm

I completely agree. Most of our pets require more than one source of nutrition.

Also, what are your parameters, and how much flow do you have around the coral?

 

Haven't checked my params today, but they were good yesterday. I think it's the food source that it's unhappy with. If I think about it, there was a change shortly after I changed foods. I switched to an oyster feast.

 

Wow,

I never feed my Kenya Trees anything, and they grew like weeds! I do feed my fish, but none of my many corals.
And certrainly not my softies.
But, I learn something new everyday, feeding Kenya trees included in todays learning.

 

Most coral love oyster based foods. Did it start to change when you switched lights? How long as it looked poorly? Sometimes coral will go from looking beautiful then one day it looks pitiful and pathetic and then a few days later they perk right back up. Are you able to grab us a picture?

And by the way why is there no thread started about your tank yet?

 

Check your phosphates, I find a lot of corals gradually lose color when phosphates are higher than they should be (scientific explanation for this is WAAAY too long.) lol

While feeding corals definitely helps, I wouldn't say this is required to color up a Kenya tree coral. That being said, feeding it will cause a noticeable difference in growth, assuming you stay on top of your water parameters.

HTH

 

I don't know how to start a thread about my tanks. That would be great if I could

 

Show off your fish tank!

That link takes you to the right thread but it is in the first set of threads under Quickies.

I wish I had more knowledge about your Kenya tree to help you out. Did it start doing this when you switched lights?