Gorgonian Polyp Extension

[Scott07]

I purchased whats commonly called a purple ribbon gorgonian on line about 2 weeks ago. I specifically chose this gorgonian due to it being at least partially photosynthetic, and felt it was one i stood a reasonable chance of keeping long term.

The specimen is about a foot tall, and appears rather healthy, but has shown no polyp extension since I received and placed it in my tank. It does appear to be sloughing off a waxy coating, which I've read is normal. Im starting to become concerned however at the lack of polyp extension.

Nitrates and phosphates are at or near zero, salinity 1.026, and all my SPS is exhibiting excellent polyp extension as is another photosynthetic gorgonian i have. This is leading me to believe a water quality issue is likely not to blame.

The gorgonian is getting plenty of light (T5s), and AMPLE flow. It was recieving decent flow, but after not seeing polyp extension for the first week, i re aimed a powerhead to provide it with some more, as its my understanding this particular gorgonian wants more flow than others.

When should I be concerned? Is this normal, or should I be seeing some polyps by now? Is there anything I can do to help it out? I can provide answers to any questions about my parameters etc..., so please fire away.

As always, thank you RC!!

 

[gogo7]

pterogorgia...live foods might entice it..try some live phyto...i know i seem to use that answer for most corals that dont open.. but i think gorgs recognize phyto as food for planktons and respond accordingly. hope that helps.

 

[CrayolaViolence]

Yes. I have these in my tank and it's normal for them to go for a week or more with little to no extension then burst out and be fuzzy again for a while before looking think again. The skin sloughing is also normal. Fuzzing out usually occurs 3-5 days after the sloughing is finished.

 

[Scott07]

Thank you both. I think I'm going to give it a bit more time to finish sloughing, but will definitely try some live phyto next time im at the LFS that carries it. Im sure everything else in the tank would appreciate it if nothing else.

 

[Scott07]

FWIW, wanted to give an update as there seems to be relatively little other info on these gorgonians out there. Sloughing is just now completing... and starting to see a decent amount of polyp extension. So I think that was about 3 or 4 weeks since placing the gorgonian in my tank. Obviously my first experience with one of these, and of course your mileage may vary loll.... but hopefully this helps someone else in the future.