Goniopora?! Am I the Only one?

[mjoener]

I just brought home my new Goniopora!
If anyone has one I would appreciate any ideas or good proceedures on feeding that have worked long term, I have read a ton of stuff and everyone seems to have their own little mixture!
But no one on this forum has had any info for me, unfortunately having read all that other stuff, i want some one here to collaborate that of which i have been reading!
Some one with some experience! lol!
This is my last and flighting plea for some good advice!

P.S. Thanks ahead of time!

 

[heuerfan]

Keep them under low light in the begining. I feed mine frozen cyclopeeze. Turn off pumps, then slowly squirt the tips of the goni. May take a couple of trys or days for the goni to get used to the feeding, but eventually they will like it

Good luck!

 

[mjoener]

How often do you feed?

 

[heuerfan]

I only feed once a week, but i'm constantly feeding the fish and dosing phyto once a week as well.

 

[mjoener]

Ok cool, i bought some Plankton, the LFS didn't have any cyclopeeze...
will this suffice?

 

[Echidna09]

Phyto will help it stay alive but it needs meaty food to thrive.

 

[mjoener]

thanks guys

 

[lukinrats]

I have had my Goni for about 3-4 months now... I picked it up on a whim @ the LFS... I usually do not do that, but I loved it... I found out how hard they were to take care of when I got home, and did some research... After I did all the reading, I figured that I would kill the thing... I have been so thrilled @ the results I have gotten, and this coral is my absolute favorite... I hope to get another one very soon, maybe a different color

Now, to answer your question... I feed my Goni, and my Sun Coral every 3-4 days... I rotate what I feed, and I think that it is working for me... 1 day I feed them frozen mysis or brine shrimp, and I squirt it at them with either a syringe or a little sucker/squirter thingy magig that came with my test kits... I also use a coral food called "Coral Frenzy"... I feed it to them once a week, and I really like this stuff... I put 2 scoops in a cup (the scoop comes with the food), and then about 4 syringes full of saltwater to mix it up with... After it is mixed well, then I just squirt it at them very very slowly... I like this food mainly because the corals seem to like it, but also because I use all of the left over/ excess to feed all my zoo's and rics, etc... I do not know if it is beneficial to them, but they seem to love it when I feed it to them... They seem to be growing rapidly, and I would love to attribute this to the Coral Frenzy left overs that I give them, but it could be just normal... Also, about every 3 days I squirt phyto directly @ the Goni, and it seems to get plenty, and the rest just goes out into the water column for the rest of the tank

So, there is my care instructions, and I hope it helps you, and continues to help me

Later,
Nate

 

[gh0st]

Small Meaty foods are pretty key with Goni's.

Oyster Eggs, or a similar type of food, urchin roe, etc are great. Ground up cyclopeeze are good as well. Most people who report long term success feed pretty frequently, or have high nutrient levels in the tank.

 

[catfisher]

Goniopora.org was a help to me. I've had mine for a month and it's doing great...

 

[waterfaller1]

What color is your goni? The purple and red types are easier to keep than the green{stokesi}. I have had mine for years, and they take much larger food particles than what I have read and have been told.

 

[Nano Chris]

I have a red one and its doing great, i feed frequently and it seems to be doing well for the past few months.

 

[mjoener]

I have a red one, i tried feeding about 2 days ago, i used reef plankton and the peices seemed large enough although it didn't take to it, plus my 2 percs were all about trying to get at it!
I am unable to find anyone who carries the cyclopeeze though.

 

[aznlmpulse]

I'm still experimenting with mine. I can never tell if they're grabbing for it, or retracting due to the disturbance. I've tried phyto, marine snow mixed with powdered cycopeeze. My sun coral takes anything I give it, but the goniopora never grabs for anything.

I feel a little better when I feed it at night, as the polyps are already retracted and they don't have much anywhere to go.

Any ideas? Sorry to hijack btw.

kmjoen230, you can get powdered cyclopeeze thru marinedepot.com

I might have to try oyster eggs next.

 

[mjoener]

I think i am going to give it another feed of the reef plankton tomorrow, see if maybe it realizes that that is the food source, also i think i may order some cyclopeeze online, i think mashing the food up may make a difference as that may release some fluid that can help the animal know that it is feeding time.

 

[Serioussnaps]

My stokesi will take large flakes of formula 2 flake. I do that just to get some spirulina in its diet. I generally mix F2 flake, lots of frozen cyclopeeze, rotifers and DT's oes with some selcon for an hour and then target feed it.

Mine is having trouble acclimating to my lighting, its healthy but it is taking longer for me to be able to give it alot of light and it may not happen.

 

[Pitcom]

I have a softball size of Blue Goni going strong. It's at the bottom of my tank under t5 lighting. Once a week i add a small bag of live rotifers for ym corals and I target feed twice a week. I use powdered cyclopeeze that i eed from rigid airline tubing and a test syringe from a salifert test kit. The second feeding is Spectrum fish pellets. I let them soak for half an hour and they turn mushy. I think the goni loves those the most.

 

[mjoener]

i target fed again today, i didn't see any progress, the food floats around and right through their grasp... i think i am going to cover them with a plastic container and use a tube connected to my syringe and see what happens... is my reef plankton too large of a food item?

 

[mjoener]

Ok now i am having another concern, the little guy hasn't opened for almost 24hrs.
Since my last post that is. I'm a little nervous, i don't want it to die!

 

[waterfaller1]

Have you moved it, touched it, or is there any tank inhabitant harassing it?{ie:fish..shrimp..crabs..etc.} Where in the tank is it located? How old is the tank and what are your parameters..particularly Alkalinity, Calcium, PH, SG, Temp? What type of flow is it in? What color is this goniopora? Can you post a pic? I would'nt suggest covering it with anything. And for the record, phytoplankton is of no use to goniopora directly.