Goniopora lifespan in captivity

[ReeferKimberly]

I recieved this goniopora as a gift a few months ago. I didn't know much about them before that. I have been reading and what I read concerned me. It seems they do not do well in captivity? Some people said they had kept some for long periods, some said they usually die after a year or so. Mine is fine now, it's the big brownsih-green dome in the middle. It's more green in real life.

I read they are maybe hard to feed and the average reef aquarium doesn't have enough phytoplankton for them. I have phyto-feast-live. Is this the right stuff? What else can I do to keep it happy...I mean anything special?

My lights are T5s, 2 blues, 1 white, 1 purple. And a 36 inch strip of blue LEDs. I have cheato in the back and xenia for nutrient control other than water changes. I do not use any filtration, just heavy water movement. No sump, skimmer, refugium. (it's a bit of an experiment) I keep mostly softs and LPS. I do not yet feel I have the knowledge (or desire) for an SPS tank so I only have some encrusting corals that seem to do well. I do weekly 15% water changes with reef crystals and RO water. I DO NOT test or dose. I rely on lighter feeding and water changes. That's part of the reason I don't keep SPS and why I would NOT have bought this goniopora (I know it's LPS but it looks like a difficult one)....but my mom got it for me and whatcha gonna do :/ It is pretty....but do you think I will lose it sometime in the coming year due to how I keep my tank?

I know I can already keep these alive fine: Zoas, Palys, Yellow Polyps, Leathers, Duncans, Clove polyps, several encrusting SPSs, ricordea, xenia, GSP, Buttons, Kenyas, Blastos, and Candy Canes

I do not plan to change what I do (the not testing or dosing) unless I lose any of those I already have. 65 Gallons. I have a small snowflake eel, a small sailfin tang (not permanent) and a brown barred sleeper goby. I plan to just have the eel and the goby as the permanent residents. The Sailfin is moving.

Should I trade the goniopora or does it have a chance in the long run. Right now, it's perfectly happy since Christmas. Middle brownish dome in the middle (it's the brown and green kind in person)

 

[FranktheTankTx]

Unfortunately, the green species is probably one the more difficult to keep. They are very sensitive to strong lighting & should be placed in the bottom with lesser flow.

They need to be target fed every few days as well. Good luck!

 

[FranktheTankTx]

To add further, target feed crushed oyster eggs, mysis shrimp, brine shrimp, cyclopeeze. Your goniopora will starve otherwise.

 

[ReeferKimberly]

Yes I did read the red one(s)? were the easier to keep. I feed phyto-feast (live kind), roti-feast, oyster-feast. As well as several kinds of frozen foods (emerald entree + a bunch of other ones) for the fish and krill/other stuff for the eel. I just only feed the corals once a week though now. The eel gets a couple krill every 2-3 days and the fish get a cube of this and that when the eel is fed. The Goby sifts sand and the sailfin picks at everything...so they seem to be ok with my current less often feeding, they are not skinny.

When I feed the corals I do squirt at it and I turn off powerheads but I have only been doing it once a week (since there isn't other filtration on the tank, there is plenty of food for the other current resident corals).

I don't think I can feed much more often than that and since it works for everything else I guess I need to know if that would be sufficient. If not I will trade it, no point keeping it to let it perish. Since I don't do filtration everything else seems well fed, my zoas are growing really fast compared to when I started. I will just see how it goes with the goniopora. And concentrate on target feeding a bit closer.

 

[gmigmi]

I have a red gonipora that is about 3-4 years old. no target feeding etc. my experience with the greens aren't that good especially the ones coming from Indonesia, I do have one green goni from Vietnam for over a year and so far its doing great.