help wh flowerpot

[spamreefnew]

hi guys i got a red flowerpot coral 7 days ago ,,,in the store it was open fully and under hi flo and hi light .. now after 7 days it still wont open for me. any ideas?

tank params:

alk:11dkh
ca.: 480 ppm
ph:8.3
temp: 80
amo:0
trite:0
trate:0-3 ppm (second month of vodka dose)
spg: 1.026
tank: 55g tech cube
lights: 2x150w hqi 10,000k and 2x36w actinic

outher tank inhabs: hammer coral,toadstools,hairy mushrooms,gerrn mushrooms,orange zoos,neptheia,2 large btas,atlantic anome,tulip anem,,fish,shrimp,urchins,hermits,snails

 

[reefkeeper2]

Gonipora don't like to be touched or moved, and can stay contracted for a long time. This aside, the only thing I can see with your water parameters is your alk is a little high. If the water from the tank it was in previously was around 8, it might take a while to adjust. Also, do you know how old and what kind of bulbs it was under before? Your lighting might look simmilar, but it could be a heck of a lot brighter. In my tank they are placed in lower lighting areas.

 

[NCNBilly]

Low flow, low light, and proper feeding! They are a very difficult coral and should only be kept by very experienced reefers. I ended up moving mine to the frag tank so I could properly care for it. www.goniopora.org is a great reference.

 

[spamreefnew]

low flo&light huh? seems strange for a sps.....any comments?

 

[reefkeeper2]

It's not an SPS, its a LPS.

 

[NCNBilly]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13769675#post13769675 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by spamreefnew
low flo&light huh? seems strange for a sps.....any comments?

You need to post a picture to get an accurate ID, since it seems to now be under question. A flowerpot coral is the common name for Goniopora, and it is most certainly an LPS.

The 'red' variety of goniopora are probably the most difficult to keep of the family. There is not a good deal known about them, and unfortunatly most don't live much past 12-18 months in home aquaria. Regular feeding of appropriate sized food (target feeding cyclopeeze is great) in a well-established, stable tank will possibly yield good results.

 

[dtaylor123]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13769537#post13769537 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NCNBilly
Low flow, low light, and proper feeding! They are a very difficult coral and should only be kept by very experienced reefers. I ended up moving mine to the frag tank so I could properly care for it. www.goniopora.org is a great reference.

I hear this a lot. I have two Goni's one red and the other an aussie green. The red Goni I have had for fours years and I have moved it about twenty times! It still looks good and the green one I have moved around as well. This is what you need to know to be able to keep these cool corals that are in the LPS category, feed it. Feed it often, use a great variety of food, golden pearls all sizes, cyclopeze always the frozen kind, mysis shrimp, enriched brine shrimp, pretty much your average coral food, just make sure it is fed everyday when possible. Feedings my friends are your corals best friends.

Dan

 

[NCNBilly]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13772573#post13772573 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dtaylor123
I hear this a lot. I have two Goni's one red and the other an aussie green. The red Goni I have had for fours years and I have moved it about twenty times! It still looks good and the green one I have moved around as well. This is what you need to know to be able to keep these cool corals that are in the LPS category, feed it. Feed it often, use a great variety of food, golden pearls all sizes, cyclopeze always the frozen kind, mysis shrimp, enriched brine shrimp, pretty much your average coral food, just make sure it is fed everyday when possible. Feedings my friends are your corals best friends.

Dan

+1 for feeding, the site I mentioned earlier has a list of complete foods that are the appropriate size. The availability of frozen cyclopeeze alone is probably what is keeping these alive in captivity.

I've never had problems moving it, although it prefers to be at the edges of the tank (more diffuse light).

 

[billsreef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13770412#post13770412 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by reefkeeper2
It's not an SPS, its a LPS.

Goniopora sp. are a classic example of why SPS and LPS are poor designations. Goniopora is in the Porites family, and most Porites would be considered SPS It's best to consider the specific coral in question, rather than generalize into LPS and SPS for care considerations. What might work well for care and feeding of Euphyllia sp. will not be sufficient for Goniopora sp., yet both are typically considered to be LPS by hobbyist