Alive but bleached

[florida joe]

While moving around my rocks, something I do about once every six months, I found this coral cluster face down in the back of my tank. There is one head that is obviously dead. BUT notice the three that are bleached but alive. It is an interesting phenomenon that happens when a coral is stressed. Its explanation is rather technical but I am sure there are hobbyists on the site that will enjoy understanding why and how corals can bleach and stay alive. Research problems in Symbioses in corals

 

[2quills]

Well that's good that you didn't lose all of the heads. Looks like a nice candy cane.

I think I have a zoa colony that got blown behind my rocks somewhere. Wonder if they're still alive. I did recently fish out a Monty cap frag from behind the rocks that lost some color but still alive.