Questions Echinophyllias and Gorgonians

[critmin]

Ok so I have two questions and maybe I should have made 2 threads but I'm sure nobody wants two threads from these questions. Also, I wasn't sure which forum to use for gorgonians.


OK so the first is that I bought an echinophyllia about a month ago and it was dying but I really like the color and the price was good so I got it with the hopes of recovering it. At the beginning it was brownish/purple with neon green eyes and neon green rim and there were two baby colonies on the piece. One was fine and the other had a patch about 3/4"x3/4" of newly exposed skeleton.

Ok so now it looks about the same but there has not been any more die off and the body is now turning neon green. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Is it bleaching or growing? Also does anyone have or has anyone seen an all neon green echino? Because that is what it looks like it is becoming. Thanks.

2nd question: I was wondering if anybody here has a purple photosynthetic gorgonian and if so do they have problems with it being toxic to other corals? I read that gorgonians can be very toxic and should not be placed near other corals but I am not sure if that is the case for all gorgonians and also I have some purple photosynthetic gorgonians and their branches are touching some zoas. I don't think there is a problem but it has only been a little while since they touched because the gorgonian grew out to it. Thanks everybody. That's all for now. :rollface:

 

[slojmn]

1st question response:
I'd say it may be bleaching a bit if it is getting a lighter neon color. It is a good indication that it is happier in your tank since it has stopped receding . I would put it lower and possibly shade it slightly for a while to see if it responds better in the color department. It is quite easy to bleach some of these chalices with our Metal halide lights. Others take the light really well. Some just need to acclimate for a few months slowly coming out into more and more light. On the flip side it could be just fine but the "neon" description has me a little concerned. Any pictures??? I always put new chalice frags on the bottom off to the sides, some I shade a bit so they get a more diffused light. Once they look good to go and afre growing I may move them to a different spot in the system where they seem to thrive.
I don't know a thing about gorgs, other than they are real purty...so I'll let someone else respond to that one .

 

[surfy]

Hey, critmin.

On the echino question; I have a neon green colony which is completely green, both its eyes and body. However, the body is a bit more pale with white stripes/spots, but the eyes are a really bright neon green. So yes, to answer your question, there are bright green color morphs out there.

With so many factors in water chemistry and lighting schemes, it may just be morphing/adapting to your aquarium. It's really hard to say.

What lighting are you running and how big is the tank?

I'll try to post a picture of mine soon so you can compare.

 

[critmin]

Here is a pic of the echino:

And here is another one:

Oh and you can see some branches of the gorgonian.

 

[critmin]

Surfy did you get a picture yet?

 

[surfy]

No, sorry. I have been pretty busy and to be honest, it slipped my mind.
From the pictures you posted, yours is much more "florecent" than my colony. My echino is a much darker neon green.

My MH ballast burnt out on me a couple weeks ago, so I have resorted to PC lighting for the time being. Do to the change, I have noticed a color change in my echino. It now has more of a greyish/white tint to the body where as before it was a much brighter green with white specks.

My lights are off right now, but I will try to post a picture for you sometime this week.

 

[critmin]

Ok thanks. Sorry about your light. Hey where in SoCal are you?

 

[~St1dNano~]

Re: Questions Echinophyllias and Gorgonians

2nd question: I was wondering if anybody here has a purple photosynthetic gorgonian and if so do they have problems with it being toxic to other corals? I read that gorgonians can be very toxic and should not be placed near other corals but I am not sure if that is the case for all gorgonians and also I have some purple photosynthetic gorgonians and their branches are touching some zoas. I don't think there is a problem but it has only been a little while since they touched because the gorgonian grew out to it. Thanks everybody. That's all for now. :rollface: [/B][/QUOTE]

After seeing the pictures I have the same gorgonia, and yes it practically melts anything that it touches in my tank, including my arm! I've brushed up against it many of times and once it got me to the point of blistering! :eek2:

 

[critmin]

Eeeps! Well I was doing a bit of experimentation and this is what I found out about it. They don't seem to sting zonathids actually zoanthids sting it. Also they definitely sting montipora and it is questionable if they sting chalice corals. I haven't had any problems handling it though. I think they are ok with cloves too but not sure. This is just from what I've seen in my tank. Maybe the reaction you are getting is due to allergies? Do you get a severe reaction like that with any other coral?

 

[~St1dNano~]

The frogspawn has done this to me also, funny thing is I hardly ever feel it when it is happening, but later usually about a half hour, and it is usually too late to treat so I just deal with it.

 

[surfy]

Well, I got home from work with the intention of snapping a pic, but it looks as though my brother dropped by and "borrowed" my camera. So hopefully I will have a picture for you by Wednesday.
Actually, it will be the first time I have taken a picture of any of my corals.

I have had a frogspawn sting me in the past which left little burn spots on my skin. --I didn't know gorgonians sting. I've always seen them with seahorses.

Oh, and I am located in the foothills of Oak Glen/Forest Falls/Big Bear Mtn.

 

[critmin]

So just wondering but which forum is appropriate for gorgonians? There doesn't seem to be much interest in them.

 

[surfy]

Here are a couple pictures of the green Echino colony I have. I tried my best to capture it's true color. As you can see, it's not as neon as yours. However, it is much brighter in person, and it has "darkened" some with the PC's. It certainly has developed a lot more white stripes/spots over the past few weeks.

 

[surfy]

I'm not too sure which forum would be best to seek advice on Gorgonians. You may try the soft corals, or even the seahorse forum.
All I know is they are beautiful and I would love to have one some day.

 

[critmin]

Wow surfy, very nice echino. I wonder why the white stripes are appearing with the pc's. Is it a sign of health or stress? Were they getting too much light before. Very strange.

Oh and about gorgonians. The purple ones I have are photosynthetic and very easy to care for. In fact , they are growing very fast in my tank. You should be able to get them at an lfs if you ask them to pick one up at the wholesellers. If not I think they have them at liveaquaria. I was going to frag mine to sell off but then I realized it would be too much work for what they're worth.

 

[critmin]

Here is a new pic. I moved it a little to get more light.

 

[Scythanith]

Outer edge looks bleached, but it could just be new growth. Wehn I switched from PC's to T5HO's I had a lot of bleaching on the outer edge... it's still recovering.

What kind of lights are you using?

 

[paininthewrasse]

Doesnt really look bleached to me..

 

[surfy]

That is a very unique echino, critmin. What lighting is it under?
Has it gained any more purple pigmentation since you obtained it?

It looks like one happy camper in your tank, so the color changes could be due to growth and acclimation/adaptation to your lighting. Of course different bulbs and spectrums will produce different results. When I kept SPS, the corals were always slightly changing color on me when I would swap out a bulb for a different brand and or kelvin.

I'm interested to see what it looks like in another months time Now you have some pictures to look back upon and compare.

 

[critmin]

It might be a little bleached. I was thinking that the flesh around the polyp on the left looked a little bleached and I was getting worried but on the whole it looks like it is getting healthier. It has also started eating which is good.

My lighting is a pfo acrolight with 250w 14k hamilton and 2x75w vho actinic. I should have taken a picture of it before because it used to be all purplish brown except for the edges and the mouths. I am worried that perhaps it is bleaching but at the same time it seems to be getting healthier. Should I move it into less light? Before I kept it in a darker corner and it looked like it was getting worse so I moved it out into the light and then it started changing colors and getting more fluffy.