gorgonians info needed please

[daisy]

Hey - question for y'all who have kept gorgonians -- is there any rhyme or reason to when polyp extension happens? I have seen my new gorgonian all closed at night and all closed during day, as well as extended at night and partially extended during the day - what's normal for these guys?

thanks!

 

[NYreefNoob]

mine opened both as well also like high and low flow and high and low light, i had a red, a yellow and a blueberry one

 

[daisy]

as in every gorgonian likes all those things? so what did you do, move them around your tank all the time? sounds so funny....

 

[reefman]

gorgonians r mainly divided into 2 groups i am concern with. photosytheic n non phot...
the ones that r photo.. extends polpys all day. the ones non-photo usually just extends at nite.
rule of thumb: all brownish n greenish color r photo..the rest r not(which needs feeding).

 

[LeslieS]

Daisy,

I think you have the non photo synthetic gorgonian.

Coral magazine did a great issue on gorgonians this summer. Basically they will polyp whenever they feel like it unless they are starving. In that case they will conserve energy and only polyp in optimal feeding conditions.

Food size is important, but I cannot remember how small it should be.

Also, flow needs to be enough that algae does not build up, but not so much that food whizes by and the polyps are blowing around too much to catch the food.

Hope that is at least a little helpful.
LeslieS

 

[daisy]

Leslie - it's very helpful! thanks!!! Jim had said it's non photosynthetic - it's an orange-red color with white polyps. it's in a medium flow area - nothing directly on it, but the water moves the polyps around, but doesn't whip them around.

I feed mysis (too large) and cyclopeeze (should be just right, i hope!)

 

[LeslieS]

Oh, yeah. The article also said that a long feeding time is required. I guess they are kind of slow eaters. The sea horses of the gorgonian world.

 

[NYreefNoob]

the one jim had is a filter feeder, i would put it in a low flow area. the blueberry i had was photo, the red and yellow body i had were filter feeder. actually i think leslie got a piece of the yellow i had at one of the swap's

 

[Domboski]

I would feed freshly hatched baby brine shrimp sometimes too. Cyclopeeze is good as well. I have several Gorgs and most of them are extended at all times. Even photosynthetic gorgs filter feed. I started using marine snow made by Two Little Fishes. Since then, all of my gorgs have grown much more rapidly.

I know the Gorg you have (I think based on your description) and I would feed cyclopeeze 2-3 times a week. Supplement BBS as much as you can. Marine snow or some other Gorg feed once a month is also a good idea.

Also, your gorg is a low light and high flow (made that judgment on your description but a picture would really help).

Hope this helps!

Dom

 

[Domboski]

These may help too:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2002/3/inverts

http://www.garf.org/36/gorgallabout/allaboutgorgs.html

 

[daisy]

should have included a pic sooner... :doh:

 

[Domboski]

That is a Red Sea Rod

 

[daisy]

oy - i hope it survives. my tank is very well-established, and if it's going to do well, it should do well in my system. I'm keeping my fingers crossed! and feeding it!!!1

 

[Domboski]

I haven't had much luck with them in the past. I did have one survive for a while in my dwarf seahorse tank but had to move it when the seahorses spawned (killed two of the babies). Maybe mysis is a good idea too. Try the Hikari biopure brand. They tend to be a smaller size.

I hope it works out!

 

[ellebelle]

My non-photosynthetic gorgonian slowly withered and died over time. My photosynthetic gorgonian is doing well. I find that if I feed it, it doesn't extend its polyps for several days (I supplement with cyclopeez a few times per week).

 

[noodleman]

my photosynthetic one is alive and well consdiering i dumped it in corner

 

[Jasonanatal]

Hello everyone, I'm no expert on the care of Gorgonians and since I have had very limited experience with them I will just share the key points that I retained while studying on the specimen. One of the keys points to definitely remember is hat the groupings of Gorgonians are the Photosynthetic and Non-Photosynthetic as mentioned by other members. This was allow you to form a baseline of the care needed for whatever specimen you maintain. Another key point is that randomized flow with more high flow periods then low flow will be the key to success with both species. many Non-Photosynthetic Gorgonians over time especially in Aquariums with low or non-randomized flow will evenutally circum to being covered with some type of algea that will cause it to literally disintegrate and leave what resembles the inside of a stripped pipe cleaner. Also food size for the Non-Photosynthetic also definitely plays a role since I remember passing by an article reffering to the effectiveness of the Polyps grasping food in relation to the size of the food. Also in passing conversation which I cannot substantiate, references were made to maintaining Iodine levels. I apologize for not being able to contribute more information.

 

[ellebelle]

Non-phot. gorgonians can pick up larger food particles than photosynthetic ones can. I used to see my yellow finger gorgonian snatching cyclopeez, small pieces of flake food, even the occasional mysis fragment. I have never seen my photosynethetic gorgonian contract its polyps around cyclopeez or anything else I put in the tank,

 

[Quang]

daisy, i think the immediate cause for the lack of polyp extension is probably not enough flow.

what your non-photo gorg. needs has been advised by the other members... good luck.

fwiw, i used to feed my gorg (mostly the photo-type) some Marine Snow to which they like. I turned off the flow and turkeybasted them.

 

[daisy]

thanks everyone!

I have changed the flow patterns in the tank for starters. I have four powerheads on a red sea wave master, and one of them is pointed at it from across the tank. the whole tank experiences flow, but the flow on the gorgonian is now increased - though it is not all-the-time flow, but rather, intermittent direct flow, all the time turbulent flow... it's the best i can do, and I think it's pretty good....

i will order marine snow asap. for the time being, cyclopeeze will have to do, but i'll baste it when polyps are open. when i got home, all but one polyp were closed, but since moving the powerhead, more have opened... which is good, I think!

thanks again!