Help with Id of this Gorgonian

[ento-reefer]

I have been trying to positively ID this gorgonian and I am wondering if anyone has any ideas as to species. I think it could possibly be a Mopsella sp. or maybe Acabaria splendens. I am assuming it is non-Photosynthetic due to the white polyops.

I feed my tank fairly heavily and so far it seems to be responding well to both Roti-feast and cyclopeeze.

Any info would be appreciated as to id and also personnal experience with the care of this beauty.

 

[reefkeeper2]

I have a similar one ,only the polyps are orange. I would love to have an ID for it as well. I am feeding it a mix of fauna marin foods like ultra sea fan and ultra min ,along with algamac 3000, GP reef and larval diet and freeze dried rotifers. Here is a not so great pic of it.

 

[ento-reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12724989#post12724989 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by reefkeeper2
I have a similar one ,only the polyps are orange. I would love to have an ID for it as well. I am feeding it a mix of fauna marin foods like ultra sea fan and ultra min ,along with algamac 3000, GP reef and larval diet and freeze dried rotifers. Here is a not so great pic of it.

Yours is very beautiful. I have been doing some research and I think the one I have is a Diodogorgia sp. commonly called the red finger gorgonian. I have been feeding roti-feast and cyclopleeze which seems to stimulate polyop expansion and its been feeding well.

 

[mollymonticello]

I just ID'd one exactly like this recently. I can't remember now what it was. I'll tell you tomorrow

I think care is similar to Diodogorgia -- tons of food and laminar flow. And keep algae off.

Reefkeeper2, yours reminds me of Plexaura. I am probably wrong.

 

[Jens Kallmeyer]

@ ento-reefer: I doubt that this is an Acabaria, because they usually have a much finer structure as you can see here:

As it appears from the picture the branches are too thin for a Mopsella, it is hard to tell without any scale. This is a typical Mopsella

Depending on the size of the polyps it may well be something from the Elisella complex. Very tricky animals, susceptible to algae overgrowth.

@reefkeeper 2: Yours is surely a Menella, a rather easy nps gorgonian. See here

It is surely NOT a Plexaura, they are photsynthetic

Good luck with these beautiful specimen

Jens

 

[reefkeeper2]

Thanks! So much yet to learn.

 

[mollymonticello]

Sorry it took me so long to respond. Someone "borrowed" my sea fan book. Anyway, the one I was thinking of but couldn't remember the name was Euplexaura. Or Echinogorgia. I'm probably wrong. Maybe your sea fan is of the unidentified variety. Good luck ID'ing it.