why no white corals?

[reef tank 2.0]

with all the coral colors that are out there, and different types. why is there no white coral?
and when I say white, I'm talking healthy coral that is meant to be white.
you can find every color of the rainbow, but that one.

unless there is white coral out there, but I've never seen any

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

Because alot of times people are looking for bright and colorful corals. White just isn't a coral color we look for in the hobby, so its not worth it to sell. I am sure you can find a white coral, they're just not at all common.

 

[Townes_Van_Camp]

There are some acros not bone white of course. They do have other colors. Also there are some pulsing Xenia as white as the snow.

 

[reef tank 2.0]

we do like bright and colorful corals, but there are also those reefers that like brown mushrooms
I like white!

 

[reef tank 2.0]

I do see the white xenia.....too bad it grows like a weed

 

[crazyfishmom]

There are some albino acros in the trade that are quite beautiful. They have colorful polyps so the contrast is quite striking. I will try to find pictures I’ve seen online.

 

[TokenReefer]

you can find every color of the rainbow, but that one.

To be fair, white is not in the rainbow

 

[Reefing102]

Just do like they did in the 80’s. Buy bleached coral skeletons and once algae starts growing on them, take them out and re-bleach them

 

[Reefer Matt]

Actually most coral are white. That’s what you see when they bleach. The zooxanthellae are what give them their color.

 

[reef tank 2.0]

although not coral, I do see the condy nem, that's white.

 

[KrisReef]

Where are the white coral at?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

with all the coral colors that are out there, and different types. why is there no white coral?
and when I say white, I'm talking healthy coral that is meant to be white.
you can find every color of the rainbow, but that one.

unless there is white coral out there, but I've never seen any

In addition to the white softies and acros, there are actually some "bone white" corals - but they're NPS (often deepwater, and sometimes troglobitic).

As was mentioned, the zooxanthellae give the corals much of their color, so the NPS corals (which don't have zooxanthellae) don't always have the coloration.

For examples of true corals that are white, you can look at Lophelia (Edit: Ah, slight correction to myself here, Lophelia are now accepted as Desmophyllum) species and Leptoseris troglodyta. Additionally, some hydrocorals (such as some Stylaster species) are also white.

 

[Malum Argenteum]

although not coral, I do see the condy nem, that's white.

Bleached ones are white. Healthy/wild ones are lighter shades of brown, sometimes a bit greenish.