Care of Gorgonian

[seldin]

I have a 55 gallon reef established several years ago with live rock, live sand and lots of critters.

I feed my tank 2-3 times a week a variety of frozen food and give a wide variety of flake and freeze dried food. I have 39 times water turnover and my 3 new Gorgonians do not look well. I have MH and T5 lighting. My frags seems to have lost their polyps.

I have moved them to a place with high water flow and was told they are not photosynthetic. So I am wondering about their care.

My parms are 400 calcium, salt 1.025, nitrate 0 and ph 8.3, temp is 78-79.

Thank you,

 

[sunrise1982]

I think they starve to death......may be your foods are not suitable to them at all. Are your sure that your gorgonian is non-photosynthetic? I see a lot of gorgonian which have the same look...that is also the issue prevent our success in keeping this specie

 

[seldin]

Sunrise1982,

I am not sure they are non-photosynthetic. I had moved them under my MH and that did not do the trick, so a friend said that Gorgonians are non-photosynthetic, but maybe these are.

Anyway, do you know what they eat?

Thank you,

 

[sunrise1982]

I feed them artermia sometimes. And I see their tentacles open and catch the food.

yes, it is very hard to identify these gorgonians....

 

[seldin]

Quan,

Thank you,

 

[dendro982]

You can try to identify your gorgonian by taking a look at the photos here, if not there - post pictures here, maybe somebody keeps them.
Next, you likely can find information on their keeping at this forum. If Latin (scientific) name doesn't help, try common name.

Generic way you may try could be:
- Increasing feeding to few times daily, continuous feeding device would be preferable.
- Use mostly zooplankton, frozen or dried. Live food would be preferred, but variety - combination of dry, frozen and live - should help. Fauna Marin and Timo make high end specialized food. RotiFeast and PhytoFeast could be used instead.
- Food should be small enough to fit the mouth. Sea whips have particularly small polyps, try 50-100 micron particle size. Diodogorgia (red or yellow thick stemed gorgonian with white polyps) can take up to 800 micron (Cyclop Eeze). If your gorgonian is forget-me-not blue (blueberry gorgonian), try turbulent water and continuous feeding. Menella should be easier. Muricella - as blueberry, only much smaller food. If your gorgonian is white - but not Carijoa riisei - check threads of the European keepers here, at least one of them has it.

Several threads ago was description of the continuous and prolonged feeding devices, at different levels of complexity and expenses.

Readily available foods: RotiFeast (bottled, small-medium size), Cyclop-Eeze (dried or frozen, large), ZoPlan (dried, middle sized), frozen Rotifers, Reef Plankton is too big, blended grocery seafood - smallest particles, or even crushed saltwater fish flakes, soaked in vitamins and aminoacids (smallest particles again), Hikari First Bites is the finest from available everywhere (~50 microns), better than nothing.
HTH

 

[tatuvaaj]

I have also had success with Grotech NutriMarine Instant.

Water flow (velocity) is very important for most gorgonians, 10 cm/s (4"/s) is a good starting point for many species.

 

[seldin]

Guys,

I will be buying some more food this weekend.

Thank you for your suggestions.