Gorgonian Purchasing Question

[Beckmola24]

There is a nice gorgonian at my LFS. It is pinkish/red with white polyps. Gorgonians have done very well in my tank. I currently have 2 and they always have their polyps extended and have actually grown. The only problem with the one at my LFS is that the base has some tissue missing. Not much, but some. The rest of the gorgonian looks healthy. Should I pass or would it be ok to purchase it? Will the tissue regrow there? It's fairly decent in size and would be perfect in my tank. Any opinions here?

 

[Beckmola24]

Anyone???????

 

[cwby416]

Will your LFS let you put it on hold for a week or so, to see if it gets worse or better? if not, may be get a picture of it to post here for a better diagnosis from some of the more experienced here.....

~Randy~

 

[loohunter]

wish i could help so here is a bump

 

[Llarian]

No personal experience, but everything I've read says that Gorgonians do not recover from tissue loss at the base and its a common problem.

I'd wait for Calfo or somebody to chime in, but from the research I did a few month ago on them, I'd say no, don't take the chance.

-Dylan

 

[loohunter]

i have never seen a totally healthy one so i have always stayed away, though i would realy like one

 

[Beckmola24]

Thanks for all the replies. I didn't know it was difficult to regrow tissue after they've lost it. If that's the case, I may pass on this one. I've been lucky with the other 2 I have. They are doing really well in my tank.

 

[NaH2O]

moved this thread to Anthony's forum.

I'm curious to Anthony's response on purchasing gorgonians in general...what to look for, etc.

 

[Anthony Calfo]

I cannot think of a single circumstance where I'd recommend an azooxanthellate gorgonian like this for a non-specialized, garden reef aquarium.

My advice is to let this beautiful coral (hopefully) die in the dealers tank and pray that they do not reorder it and offer more for casual/impulse purchase sales.

Put another way... can you tell me what this coral eats? I don't know... nor do I know of any/many folks that know what more than a small number of gorgonians eat. For those that we do know, good luck trying to provide substituties for nanoplankton

The worst thing anyone could do here is "save" this coral by buying it. It will still die in your tank most likely (much) sooner rather than later... and it will only spur the dealer to order another. Worse... perhaps more than one collected will have to die in transit to successfully import a healthy replacement.

Some corals simply, presently do not survive well in aquaria and are poor choices for conscientious use of the living resources.

That is the case with azooxanthellate gorgonians put in typical garden style reef aquariums.

 

[loohunter]

thanks anthony i will continue to supress my urge to have one

 

[Anthony Calfo]

good to hear my friend... indeed many folks cannot resist buying these beautiful corals, and yet categorically the majority are dead well withi a year of collection.

in time we may kow better how to care for them, but that work will most likely only be done by specialists and/or in specialized tanks to attempt to meet the unique needs of these non-photosynthetic cnidarians.

kudos to you

Anthony

 

[Beckmola24]

Thanks for the advice. The 2 I have have been with me several months and always have their polyps extended and have actually grown in size (especially the sea whip) I feed my gorgonians bbs and phyto and I can see the yellow one actually catch some of the bbs in its polyps (it's non photosynthetic) The other one is photosynthetic and is placed high in the tank with a lot of flow directed on it. Neither gorg mind having the seahorses hitch to them because they hardly ever retract their polyps. Hopefully they will continue to do ok for me.

 

[Anthony Calfo]

for what is now approaching twenty years in the hobby now, I have seen, read and heard time and time again (hundreds and hundreds of times really) well-intended aquarists counter with "yeah... but mine looks great and its polyps are out all the time!"

And almost never has the exmple/specimens given been more than months old captive (under one year again most always)

They can take many months to slowly starve to death.

And almost never have those folks understood that the polyps being open on a starving coral is not necessarily a sign ofgood health, but rather need/hunger/natural habit.

Much like photosynthetic corals that swell in size and pan for weakly available light in systems with old or dusty/dirty light bulbs, these corals are not "growing" under these bulbs... but starving and struggling to catch the waning (quality/quantity) of light.

While there are (very) rare exceptions of such gorgonians that live over one year... that does not change the fact that the majority die within months of collections and that it is irresponsble IMO for most folks to keep, use or recommend these species for aquarium life presently.

It would be helpful Becky (truly) if you'd post back to this thread after yours are one year captive, or not, and detail your husbandry for perspective then to help explain the success or not.

best of luck/life to all,

Anthony

 

[NaH2O]

Here comes my gorgonian newb question of the day.... How do you tell the difference between the photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic gorgonians? I've been told by the color of the polyps, but I'd really like to know for sure.

 

[Anthony Calfo]

ahhh... excellent question!

Hmmm... the best way to is refer to a good reference before you buy the gorgonian... like we all do before we buy any live creature

But when that is not so... the polyp color is actually a decent indicator. The zooxanthellae impart a dingy color, sometiomes literally brown or tan to the polyps.

White, blue, orange, yellow or red polyps are a no-brainer... leave those ones in the sea (or for specialists only please). They are non-photosynthetic.

Instead, most of the hardy (for aquarium use) photosynthetic gorgs are brown, tan, purple, or gray. FWIW

 

[Beckmola24]

I did research these gorgonians before purchasing them and am willing to do everything to make sure they survive. I am very picky with them and clean each branch off with the turkey baster. In my opinion it is quite a lot of work to keep them clean and that is where a lot of people may fail. They EASILY collect algae and junk in the water which keeps them from getting food. They both require strong flow to bring food to their polyps.

Anthony, would gorgonians eat live phyto??

Just for kicks I took a pic of my 2. The yellow one is non photosynthetic and the sea whip is photosynthetic.

 

[LakeEd]

Ummmm... which one of the above is the "Yellow" one???

 

[Beckmola24]

Oops... You can't really tell can you? If you look closely the first picture has a yellow base and white polyps. The second one is purple with brownish/tan polyps. I'm having issues with the wiring in my 10k bulb hence the pic of them with actinics...

Anthony, my lfs just got in a ton of gorgonians. It's sad because they usually give me the dead skeletons for my dwarf seahorses to hitch to, so obviously they can't keep them alive very long. Anyways they have a gorgonian right now that is light purple in color with royal/ish blue polyps. I've looked online a bit and can't find what type of gorgonian it is. It's not a purple brush because the branches don't grow the same was as the brushes. Also do you know what type the red/pinkish with white polyps is?? Gorgonians really interest me. THanks!

 

[Anthony Calfo]

I don't mean to give you a hard time Becky... you clearly sound/seem sincere here in intent and admiration of your livestock... yet your situation sounds like every other I have seen through the years: you mention that you did research before buying these gorgonians. It begs the question from me... what research? (asked respectfully/seriously here) I have to ask because you do not list the gorgonian species here (beyond "yellow" ) and you are asking if they eat phyto.

So I'm wondering what you researched that led you to buy this animal without knowing its name, what it eats, and if you can provide it?

This is exactly the point I am trying to make in my posts above, my friend. And the regular attraction of algae on these gorgs is a familiar sign that does not bode well. In fact... its sadly familiar and you may expect to see more and more of it in the coming months.

I can neither tell you excatly what your azooxanthellate gorgonian eats exactly... nor can I tell you who does know.

If you came across this information in your research or by any means... it would be a HUGE favor to me and benefit to others to share that reference/data with us all. I would duly pass it along to help others indeed.

species name and what does this species eat, if you can please?

 

[Beckmola24]

The name for the purple ribbon is Pterogorgia sp. and the yellow one is a Diodogorgia nodulifera. I've been told and have read online that gorgonians eat phyto, cyclopeeze, but I figured that I'd check with you I did research feeding, and placement requirements for them and did a lot of reading on wetwebmedia about gorgonians.

Last night I fed the Diodogorgia nodulifera (yellow one) with some cyclopeeze and each polyp collected a piece and ate it.

I understand you questioning me because you know absolutely nothing about me or my tanks so I completely am with you there

My last question is do gorgonians normally die from starvation or from malnutrition or can't you tell? Because mine is eating, but I don't know if it's what it really needs or not. Just a thought.