[Coral-List] Alizarin staining

[Robert Richmond]

According to the paper by Austin Lamberts in the  Coral Reefs: Research Methods book (UNESCO,1978):

use a concentration of ca. 15 ppm (0.0015%); he suggests making up a stock of 4 - 5 mg of stain per ml of distilled water and diluting this "to taste."

For a coral like Pocillopora damicornis we've had good luck putting colonies into a cooler with aeration, the above concentration (should look like dark cherry kool aid) and allow the corals to be in direct sunlight for 4 - 6 hours.  To prevent temperature stress, you can put in a cool pack or two, or use an aquarium inside of a water table with good flow (like a heat exchanger).

Good luck,

Bob 
Robert H. Richmond, Ph.D.
Research Professor
Kewalo Marine Laboratory
Pacific Biomedical Research Center
University of Hawaii at Manoa
41 Ahui Street
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813
Phone: 808-539-7331
Fax: 808-599-4817
e-mail: richmond at hawaii.edu