Beginner NPS Gorgonians and sponges

[JLynn]

I am planning my first big tank at the moment after 4ish years of keeping dwarf seahorses with artificial plants/corals. It will be a seahorse tank, but more importantly, a macro algae/seagrass/photosynthetic gorg. tank, which means that the lighting will be intense. While I will mostly have photosynthetic gorgonians, I will have an overhang which should provide a shaded habitat for a couple NPS gorgonians. (I also won't be adding anything NPS for 3-4 months, provided that I have no difficulty with the photosynthetic gorgs in those months.) On the subject of sponges, I am considering adding 1 or 2 to the tank, but am not sure that it is advisable for a beginner. Mostly, I just want to add a few splashes of color, especially since most photosynthetic gorgonians end up just looking brown due to their polyps.

Anyways, I just want suggestions for NPS gorgs and sponges which would be suitable for the environment. In lieu of suggestions, warnings about what NOT to try are also nice. I know that blueberry gorgonians have proven to be a massive failure in aquaria; are there any other gorgs like that? Also, are there any NPS gorgonians which can tolerate the amount of light that they would receive outside of the little overhang? When suggesting gorgonians/sponges, please add some information on their care, like what foods to give them and where they should be placed. When warning me away from gorgonians/sponges, please explain why. Thanks in advance!

 

[noy]

My suggestion is to try a Diodogorgia nodulifera - they come in 2 common color variants - the red finger gorgonian and the yellow or tigerskin gorgonian. Really colorful and striking. I really think they are an excellent starter NPS Gorgonian.

The polyps are quite large and easy to observe. You can see whether you are getting a feeding response from the foods you are feeding it. I have a thread with videos of various foods here. You will get feeding responses from fairly common foods like cyclopeez, reefroids.

They don't need shade BUT you in a seahorse tank where there is minimal flow you will have to monitor it to make sure there is no algae or cyano growing on it.

 

[JLynn]

Don't worry, the flow is not an issue here. That seahorses need low flow is a common misconception; the truth of the matter is that they love high flow, and that there simply needs to be places in the tank with low flow where they can rest after tiring themselves out in the currents. The plan into put the gorgonians and macro algae in the area with high flow. Algae would be a nightmare otherwise. Thanks for the suggestion! Sounds like it will be a good fit.:thumbsup: