how to care for goniopora?

Reef Aquarium & Tank Building Forum

Help Support Reef Aquarium & Tank Building Forum:

luisse25

luisse25

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 2, 2009
Messages
1,741
Location
puyallup washington
pick this up today...really neon lime green color,very bright really pretty....i need some info on how to care for this coral...thank you:p
 
nice looking coral ! well if its goniopora (24 tenticles per polyp) they are a pretty delicate coral but people do have success with them and are even propogating them these days. it looks like a green stokeski (g.stokeski) although i couldnt be sure. ussually the stokeski are more expensive than the (g lobata). there are lots of theorieas on both. everything ive read claims they need nutrient rich water. they have a high metabolism and need a lot of feeding. if its a stokeski though they are the more hardy of the 2 species and they are free growing so they dont have to be cut from the reef. if its a stokeski and not a lobata it will like a lot more light than a lobata. even a 400 watt halide. so knowing which type it is is very important because they have very different needs. if its a stokeski it will prefer a sandy substrate versus lobata which will prefer the rocks. good luck man (hope its a green stokeski ;) )
 
Last edited:
Hello,
They do much better under lower light and high nutrient environment. I kept one for about 3 years under T-12 VHO's with a very heavy fish load. Six months ago or so I moved it to a much lower nutrient environment with 400W halides. It changed color from brown to a light green with less polyp extension and no growth. I have begun to add Oyster Feast and it seems to be responding. In years past the longest I've been able to keep one alive is 24 months. I'm pretty sure it was due to nutritional deficiencies. They also seem to respond to stirring the sand nearby.

HTH,
Kevin
 
do you know if yours was a stokeski or a lobata kevin ? 2-3 years is about the max people are keeping the lobata alive for. they like less light but the stokeski prefers more.
 
Hello,
I have two right now a G. lobata (it came as a hitchhiker attached to another coral about the size of a dime. It is now the size of a cantaloupe.) and a G. tenuidens. These are my best guess to an ID. When I look through Veron's book there are so many similar looking species and so many species in general that I have a hard time identifying them.

Regards,
Kevin
 
yeah they are virtually identical :( youve done well with the lobata for sure ! so many people will never buy these beautiful corals out of fear of the lobatas high death rates. supposedly they are the ones who prefer lower light and very high nutrients from what ive read.
 
thank you guys for some info and keep them coming:p...i dont know what it is i just know its a goniopora,has 24 tentacles....i have it in a substrate,i fed it last night with cyclopeeze and tentacles grabbed it then open up again for more...i know from what i have heard that they are hard to keep..but im really willing to care for this one....

hi kevinpo,:)how will i know if its happy or not?
and when to worry?
 
Last edited:
Darthv247 said:
nice looking coral ! well if its goniopora (24 tenticles per polyp) they are a pretty delicate coral but people do have success with them and are even propogating them these days. it looks like a green stokeski (g.stokeski) although i couldnt be sure. ussually the stokeski are more expensive than the (g lobata). there are lots of theorieas on both. everything ive read claims they need nutrient rich water. they have a high metabolism and need a lot of feeding. if its a stokeski though they are the more hardy of the 2 species and they are free growing so they dont have to be cut from the reef. if its a stokeski and not a lobata it will like a lot more light than a lobata. even a 400 watt halide. so knowing which type it is is very important because they have very different needs. if its a stokeski it will prefer a sandy substrate versus lobata which will prefer the rocks. good luck man (hope its a green stokeski ;) )
Click to expand...

thank you:p i have it in the sand....its round but it look like it got cut in half...
i have 150w halide my tank is 20" tall...

p.s im a lady reefer:)
 
yup thats actually not a bad sign that its been cut in half and already regrown. thats how they are fragged and means it should be healthy !

P.S. sorry i call everyone man ;)
 
Darthv247 said:
yup thats actually not a bad sign that its been cut in half and already regrown. thats how they are fragged and means it should be healthy !

P.S. sorry i call everyone man ;)
Click to expand...

the color is really beautiful:pi hope i will also do good husbandry on this one...of course with the help of you guys:)
 
I had one it didnt do to well you may remember it i posted it on here trying to find it a better home. i think my tank was too clean and had too much light, 250 MH on the sand bed it just started to melt away. Maybe i just got a bad one though?
 
either way its a beautiful coral that should last you at the minimum a year. you shouldnt have any prob feeding it just stir the sand around it up a a little bit once in awhile and some oyster feast like kevin said :) enjoy it, they are awsome animals.

Who knows as170, it couldve just had an infection or something. the live cought ones have a very high death rate and if they die right away it was probably doomed from the way they hack some of the species off the reef.
 
i will keep you guys updated on how it will do in my tank...i just got it yesterday,today it extended its polyps longer than yesterday..:)

yes as1720 i saw that thread about your goniopora and i saw it at tracys frag tank...
 
i took pics of it today...polyps are more extended than yesterday...:)

p.s
pls excuse on the diatom bloom...my tank is just almost two months now...:)
 
Last edited:
luisse25 said:
i will keep you guys updated on how it will do in my tank...i just got it yesterday,today it extended its polyps longer than yesterday..:)

yes as1720 i saw that thread about your goniopora and i saw it at tracys frag tank...
Click to expand...

When did you see it? How did it look? I dont know what was going on in my tank but i lost a couple corals, that was the first one to show signs of something being wrong with my tank. Good thing i got it out when i did if its doing well that is.

Yours is vary pretty by the way! I like how yours has a biege tint to it mine was solid neon yellow darn thing glew in the dark!
 
thanks mine glows in the dark too...:p i saw yours when i picked up the wrasse from tracy,i think couple weeks ago...it still have tentacles...and it was really neon yellow...
 
it is an amazing coral but very difficult to care for. if u have a clown, goniopora is a great coral for it to host in. i'd give it a little more distance from other corals as its tentacles will expand and can sting the others. good luck!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

barrierreefcf
Arrivals 4/20 - 4/24
Replies
0
Views
276
barrierreefcf
barrierreefcf
barrierreefcf
Arrivals 5/11 - 5/15
Replies
0
Views
278
barrierreefcf
barrierreefcf
barrierreefcf
Arrivals 9/14 - 9/18
Replies
0
Views
236
barrierreefcf
barrierreefcf
barrierreefcf
Arrivals 5/4 - 5/8
Replies
0
Views
317
barrierreefcf
barrierreefcf
barrierreefcf
Arrivals 2/17 - 2/21
Replies
0
Views
383
barrierreefcf
barrierreefcf
Back
Top