Are Photosynthetic Gorgonians hard to keep? How big do they get? Growth Rate?

[that Fish Guy]

My LFS has some Photosynthetic Gorgonians for sale.

They are not very expensive and look very nice.

I feel that they give the aquarium at the store a more natural look like you see on TV Documentaries.

They are a nice change to all the usual "Glow-In-the-Dark" small frags of Zoanthids, Favia, Acropora, etc. that you normally see at your LFS.

But I asked them why I have never seen these types of Corals before?

They told me it is because they have a bad reputation.

They said most people think that they are "Impossible" to keep so they never buy them and that is why LFS never stock them.

I was told that the Non-Photosynthetic versions are much harder to keep and that they are selling "Aquacultured Photosynthetic Versions" of Gorgonians.

So before I buy some I had a few questions:

I was wondering exactly how hard they are to keep?

What do they need in terms of Lighting and Flow?

How fast do they grow?

How big can they get?

 

[wireefman]

I have 8.. all in higher flow areas... I use a reefbreeders led....blues 60% whites 35%.... some grow faster than others but I see noticeable growth every month... they can get as big as you let them get

 

[Bratyboy2]

Love my gorgonias and that's the main reason in setup my tank. Love the more natural feel they bring to the scape. I have 7 total in my tank and you couldnt get me to sell one of them

 

[MarcoBO]

They don't need any light at all. They like strong laminar flow and they need lot's of food. In a normal reef tank very hard to impossible to grow. In a dedicated nps tank some are possible to keep alive or even to grow and some are dedicated to starve to dead.

Edit: sorry just saw that you were talking about photosynthetic gorgs. But your in the nps forum. Most of the photosyntetic gorgs are easy to keep
Cheers Marco

 

[that Fish Guy]

They don't need any light at all. They like strong laminar flow and they need lot's of food. In a normal reef tank very hard to impossible to grow. In a dedicated nps tank some are possible to keep alive or even to grow and some are dedicated to starve to dead.

Edit: sorry just saw that you were talking about photosynthetic gorgs. But your in the nps forum. Most of the photosyntetic gorgs are easy to keep
Cheers Marco

Sorry.

Yeah, I was not sure where to put this thread.

I will change it now.