I do happen to have metal hallides so I assumed that will be enough light for the condy to do well. The picture was taken on my iphone so it does make it look a little bleached. It has a nice purple tip on every arm(if thats what they are called) and a little more coloration than is shown in the picture. Emelinda, why do you want to remove it? Do they cause problems as they mature. I don't plan on doing much along the lines of corals so I figured this would be a nice way to add something to look at in my tank other than fish and rocks.