Goniopora

[Beeba]

I fell into the newbie mistake of buying a goniopora because it looked cool at the LFS. It was an impulse buy to say the least and I hadn't researched it properly. I brought it home around 4/1/05 and then started reading about it and realized it is probably one of the hardest corals to keep alive for a long period of time and that some have dedicated years to studying it. I thought I would study it as best I can and try to keep it alive for a long period of time. As of today it is doing great. I blow it off every other day to keep detritus from lying on it and bacteria building up. I'm sure this will take some time but I hope to keep track of it over time and give advice on keeping them for long periods of time. Hopefully I'm not giving everyone bad news in a year like most expect. We will see.

 

[Kensn]

Yes, it is so tempting sometimes to see something that really appeals to you and want to snag it. What I do now if I see something I'm not familiar with I just go over to the book rack in the store and see if I can find something out about it. I hope it does well and it turns out to be a good purchase!!

Ken

 

[NaH2O]

Beeba - I know you have done some research, but I wanted to put some links here for other folks looking for more info.

Goniopora Success?! by Rob Toonen
Goniopora Revisited: If We Could Keep It Alive, Do We Really Want To? High Levels of Toxicity in Goniopora and Other Hard Corals by Eric Borneman. This has some information about the toxins of Goniopora. A note about the toxins - corals in the vacinity could be effected by the toxin with inhibitied growth and possible death.
Goniopora Revisited by Terry Siegel
Captive husbandry of Goniopora, spp. with remarks about the similar genus Alveopora by Julian Sprung
The Mystery of Goniopora by Eric Borneman

There was a post by mojoreef recently regarding his opinion on the care of Goniopora (I'm doing my best to paraphrase ). Because this coral isn't effective with photosynthesis, it (the photosynthesis) gives only a small portion of the carbon budget. In the wild, however, Goniopora has a lot of fatty acids, and according to mojo, detritus, along with the bacteria associated with it, would be a very good food source to help them be sustained in the captive environment. Using a turkey baster on your live rock will help get the detritus in suspension, but more importantly, try and get it to the coral. I don't think that the detritus sitting on the coral will do anything beneficial, so keeping it off the coral with the baster, like you're doing will probably help....also will provide a little food into the water column.

Beeba - how deep is your sand bed? Have you tried target feeding anything?

 

[loohunter]

i have heard goni's do well in a skimmerless tank. they live in lagoons and areas where water quality is sorta dirty. they also respond very well to high doses of iodine. a guy on a different forum has kept several for many years and even nurses badly sick ones back to health. good luck and keep us posted

 

[Beeba]

Nikki my sand bed is about 2". I've considered making it deeper or going BB but I haven't found a good reason to do either so I'm stuck with what I have until I decide. The turkey baster is a great friend to the goniopora andI use it every other day most of the time. It is amazing how much gunk comes off when I baste it off. I have done some researc but I MUCH appreciate the links and any advice that I can get. These corals are definitely not cheap so any advice to keep them alive is greatly appreciated. If later I decide that keeping the gonipora is detrimental to the other inhabitants of my tank then I may have to sell it.

 

[NaH2O]

The reason I asked about your sandbed depth is for the reason loohunter posted. DSBs and lagoonal type systems seem to be helpful for their success. Definately keep us posted on your progress.

 

[plack]

This could get fustrating and maybe even more expensive. From what i've read i would do very frequent water changes and feed high plankton the reason for the water changes is to keep the trace elements in check and the plankton is found where it is in the ocean.But consider the time/effort/and water quality this may not work too well for other things you might like but good luck

 

[Beeba]

I have decided I am not going to compromise my other little treasures in my tank to keep the goniopora happy. If I notice that it starts to look like it is not happy I will sell it back to my LFS for 1/2 price.

 

[plack]

I wonder if they would take it back now ( assuming you wanted this) for in store livestock trade upgrade. maybe you could return it and spend a little more and get a nice montipora colony. Ther are sooo many types of montipora and most of them do so well so many colors.... did I mention I like montipora

 

[NaH2O]

Beeba - Check out this website: Reef Craze. They have quite a few gonioporas.

 

[Beeba]

It has now been 8 months since I bought the gonipora and it is still doing really well. No signs of problems with it or any other corals (except my xenia that I lost). Here is a picture of it from a month or so ago. It is on the sand in the very bottom center of the picture. I'll try to get a new upclose shot soon.

 

[NaH2O]

Awesome, Beeba! Be sure to keep us updated as time goes by....your success may help another reefer.

 

[Krish]

Your tank looks great Beeba! Glad to see the little fellow is working out well for ya!

 

[Blazer88]

I've had my Goni for about six months now and it has been a slow decline. This has been my only impulse purchase so far in this hobby and I'll be sure not to do it again. It's good to hear you are having success with it though, you must be doing something right.

 

[Beeba]

Blazer88... I understand how you feel. I bought it on impulse as well and was so upset when I read about the care and chances of it surviving. When I post about the success I worry I'll jinx it. So far so good. I hope your goni will eventually come out of it.

Thanks for the compliments Nikki and krish75 I have struggled with it but it has been fun.

 

[sharks]

Congrats it looks like it’s doing well.
There is a couple here in my local club and they are not only keeping Goni’s but have sold a number of babies. I had a couple Goni’s I watched wither away at the LFS so I called them and the comeback they made under Jen and Kerry’s care was amazing to me. I would never buy these corals for my tank but I glad to see some people doing well with these corals.
Here is a link to their site with great pics and detailed reports on their progress…

http://www.reefcraze.com/

HIH
S

^DOH^
I just saw Nikki's post. Must have skimmed past it.
I know Jen and Kerry really love the liquid life food and like said above feeding criticle IMO.
HIH

 

[Blazer88]

I don't think mine will come out of it. About half of the skeleton is showing now and it's pretty much on it's way out. There are a few people on Reef Central that are having great success with them, but they are in a species tank and require a bit of care. Best of luck to you!

 

[Beeba]

Blazer... I wish I was close enough to take the goni off your hands and work with it. It still may not live but I'm curious as to whether the tank would make a difference.

Shark...I have been getting ideas from that site. Thanks!

 

[Maxx]

Here's another link for you...congrats on the continued health of your coral...

The Care and Propagation of Goniopora

Nick

 

[John Kelly]

Here's mine

http://www.goniopora.org