Gorgonian help needed

[aquarookie]

Hi all,

I have avoided getting a gorgonian due to the relative difficulty of keeping them healthy... Well, there was this one that the LFS had for months and it was doing great. It was photosynthetic to the best of my knowledge (purple branchy thing with brown polyps). Well, I bought it and did my best to transfer it into my tank without exposing it to air (I thought it was only for sponges, but apparently gorgs too)... It did OK for a few days, then started getting covered with cyano and the polyps won't open up any more. Then I noticed some flesh flaking off...

My water params are pretty stable, and I do feed DT's phytoplankton, also have two 175 watt halides over my 6' long 120 tank... There is plenty of random flow around the gorg, so I don't understand why cyano is attaching to it... Any ideas?

 

[twilliard]

Isnt what you are calling cyano actualy its slime coat that needs to be blown off daily or something like that?

 

[thekingfish]

I had a purple seawhip gorg. a while back and it would shed every once in a while. But it was a thin layer of the skin that would peel off and looked visibility different than if it was falling apart.
I would just keep wiping off the cyno as soon as it appears and hope for the best.

 

[fly guy]

If it is indeed a photosynthetic gorg such as the more common sea whip or brush varieties, exposing them to air is a non issue.

Like already said, they do shed when irritated at times and cyano or algae can grow on them. As long as the flesh is still there and not just a thin branch that used to hold the flesh.......i wouldnt worry too much for a week or two anyway. I have brushed it off as well wehn that has happened and they end up fine.

Good luck with it