Gonopora

Thanks Tuan, that is about how I do feed them. I target feed everything and I also use a feeding cone
 
i've had a pink one for about 5 years now. for the first year or so i fed it rotofeast. it seemed to like that. then i started having cyno issues so have never target fed since. Hasn't grown as fast but has survived two tank moves and numerous mishaps. At one point receded where it looked like it had a big bald spot, but that has since grown back. Here's a picture from about a year ago:
IMG_1004.jpg
 
Paul I have had one like yours for about 4 months or so. I've had the EXACT same experience feeding it. It never seems to take food either, and since i'm not a big fan of target feeding, I don't target feed it. The polyps on mine have retracted quite far and hardly ever protrude like yours, since my clownfish are constantly attempting to host it. Despite the constant clown molestation, it appears to be healthy.

It looks healthy, and when I dose phyto, or stir up detritus in the tank, the polyps become engorged with water. To me, the polyps' oral disks appear too small to eat mysis or brine shrimp.
 
The banker you are correct they don't eat mysis or even new born brine shrimp.
The tentacles don't seem capable of holding anything and are not sticky at all. Thats why I want to observe them in the sea.
 
the only thing i'd ever feed my red goni would be Oyster eggs and pyhtoplankton, i don't even spot feed mine anymore, 3 caps of pyhto on a 30g kindof heavy stocked every 2 weeks and oyster eggs about the same is enough for me to keep it alive and thriving

i've had sucess in keeping mine alive well over a year and after having this much sucess with it i plan on being able to keep it thriving for the rest of my tanks life and it's life, they are great pieces

and if you ever start to notice a decline i sugget spot feeding it the pyhto and oysters to bring it back
 
Beeker, I have had the red ones before and I can see them eat but these large polyped ones do not even they are the same species.
 
Paul,

I'm a little confused why you insist on saying your goni doesn't eat, yet you aren't trying any of the successful foods listed by many in this thread? Why try to re-invent the wheel?

I recall plenty of people that have had stokesi's that eat. Do some searches in the archives. I don't know if John Kelly is active on RC anymore, but try sending him a pm on this particular species.
 
Big E said:
Paul,

I'm a little confused why you insist on saying your goni doesn't eat, yet you aren't trying any of the successful foods listed by many in this thread? Why try to re-invent the wheel?

I recall plenty of people that have had stokesi's that eat. Do some searches in the archives. I don't know if John Kelly is active on RC anymore, but try sending him a pm on this particular species.
Click to expand...

Yup, they eat when they are fed the right foods. The most successful foods are oyster eggs and phyto, give 'em a try.
 
I bought one two weeks ago but after a few people on here told me it wouldn't last but a year or two, I returned it and got some other stuff.
FWIW, for the week I had it in my tank, it seemed very happy and would extend out about 2-3 inches from the skeleton.

From what I read, the red ones are harder to keep then the green.
004.jpg
 
I am going to get oyster eggs and phyto very soon. This last month has not been conducive to aquarium feeding or oyster egg buying. I need to drive to Queens, about a 15 minute drive but I have not had 15 minutes for a while.
I have been in and out of hospitals, nursing homes and re hab centers constantly, not for me, by the way. I am not nursing home ready for a few more years. Plus my daughter just got engaged, which does not really impact my time but it does my wife which puts more chores on me.
My Gonopora just has to wait his turn (or her turn) :)
 
"Does anyone here have any luck feeding this large polyped type?"
Click to expand...

I have, but the food had to be very very tiny.



I had this one for about 8 years.
elegance030ww5.jpg


It was before digital cameras so the quality of the pic stinks. Sorry.

I started out feeding it a home made concoction. We didn't have all the cool foods we have today. My recipe would change each time I made it. I'd use frozen fish bait like squid, shrimp, mullet, or what ever I could get. I'd even throw one of my daughters Flintstones vitamins in the blinder. (In hind sight, probably not a good idea:rolleye1:) I'd blend it all up real fine then freeze it. At feeding time, I'd thaw a small portion and dilute it. Then suck it up with a turkey baster and target feed the Goni. It ate well. In fact, if I didn't feed for 3 or 4 days, it would start to withdraw.

Paul, you may remember this. Back in the day, they had a product like those white solid blocks used to feed fresh water fish when you're away. Only this was bigger and designed (or marketed) as filter feeder food. You could just toss it behind the rocks and it would dissolve. Before taking a week and a half trip to the Keys, I got nervous about not being able to feed the Goni for that long. I didn't figure this product would make any real difference, but I gave it a shot. I just knew my Goni would be on deaths door when I got home. To my surprise, it looked great when I got home. After that, I kept one of those blocks behind the rocks. I still target fed it from time to time, but nothing like I was before. When the block was almost dissolved away, the Goni would start to withdraw. I'd replace the block and it would bounce back.

The coral grew to the size of half a basketball, and dropped "Goniophytes" (term borrowed from John Kelly) on a regular basis. For me, feeding made all the difference in the world. It had to be VERY tiny food though.
 
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Elegance, that is very interesting. I do remember those blocks. Thats where I got my idea to feed my moorish idol food mixed in plaster of paris. It worked very well.
I do feed the gonopora finely mashed up tiny fish eggs which will have to do until I get some oyster eggs and phyto. There are still dozens of foods I would like to try also. In the summer I can collect more things. I like to experiment.
Thanks for the information.
 
Something else that may help feed Goni's is dry sinking pellet food placed in a small container up stream from the coral. I found out I had more than one porcelain crab this way. I used one of the plastic 35MM film cartridges to hold a small pinch of the food. As it dissolved, tiny particles would escape the container. I had 5 porcelain crabs show up just down stream from the container. I thought I only had one. They had their feeding things going crazy. The particles were so small that I couldn't see them, but it appeared the crabs knew they were there. If the food is kept in a container, it can be removed before it begins to rot.
 
ive had green gono and a red gono for about 4 years now

i feed it 2x a week

tuesday coral frenzy i just mix it up with some ro water and baste it when its fully open

thursday i feed cyclopeeze mixed with oyster feast and same as above mix and baste
 
I had one that defiantly ate. I would target feed it seafood mix, the tentacles would shrink up and close over the food for a few hours. Mine did not live long though (5 months) I had a terrible tank back in 1998.. The tentacles died off one by one.. I felt bad for ever listing to the LFS store guy and buying it.
 
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