Purple Sea Whip?

[fdonophan]

Bought this guy last night - really pretty coloration and bright white polyps. The LFS just listed it as a "purple gorgonian" but from pictures it seems closer to a sea whip. Is that correct?

It looks full and healthy except for 2 small spots, less than an inch, that have no polyps and one part is black. Is that part dead? Do I need to cut it off or will it continue to grow around it?

 

[fdonophan]

Geez...huge picture sorry...

 

[coltrref]

Bought this guy last night - really pretty

It looks full and healthy except for 2 small spots, less than an inch, that have no polyps and one part is black. Is that part dead? Do I need to cut it off or will it continue to grow around it?

on having seen the image, you can do two things:


cuts the damaged part, to where there are no polyps and they realize a fragment.
if you refer the black part to the tissue, cut immediately.

not to put in iodo.

 

[fdonophan]

on having seen the image, you can do two things:


cuts the damaged part, to where there are no polyps and they realize a fragment.
if you refer the black part to the tissue, cut immediately.

not to put in iodo.

Ok, I've never done this. I'm guessing a sterilized blade for starters. So if I cut BELOW the spot first of all, and then ABOVE it once its off, I can frag the cut off branch?

The black 'scar' at the bottom (not visible in the pictures) seems to have healed over, but this spot goes all the way around that branch.

 

[coltrref]

Ok, I've never done this. I'm guessing a sterilized blade for starters. So if I cut BELOW the spot first of all, and then ABOVE it once its off, I can frag the cut off branch?

HI

it can realize it thus: http://www.garf.org/100/gorg/GORG1.shtml

 

[jpsnaps]

I've had black areas on mine before when it was leaning against another coral for too long and I guess it burned away the tissue. I left it alone and it heals over. It's happened a couple of times and new tissue just grows back. I can't tell where the black areas were now.

 

[fdonophan]

I've had black areas on mine before when it was leaning against another coral for too long and I guess it burned away the tissue. I left it alone and it heals over. It's happened a couple of times and new tissue just grows back. I can't tell where the black areas were now.

It is definitely healing over - I looked this morning and it's less than half the size it was - very cool!

It's interesting to know how to frag though...might come in handy, as both the gorgon and the orange tree sponge are pretty tall.