Smoking Goni?

[deuce11705]

This evening we saw what appeared to be a smoke-looking discharge coming from our Goniopora stokesi. Any thoughts on what it might be?

 

[John Kelly]

From a few other people who have described this event, and from one photo I've seen, the coral is probably spawing.

How long have you had it?
Any other details?

 

[deuce11705]

We've had it for about a month.. It wasn't doing so well for a few days... it does draw up its polyps sometimes during the day, and when the kids are running around... For the last couple of days, the polyps would extend, but they would seem thick. They didn't flow like normal but would stand straight up. As I look at it now, it seems to be back to normal. Flowing, extended polyps, etc. .. Where can i find the pics you saw?

 

[John Kelly]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7190426#post7190426 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by deuce11705
For the last couple of days, the polyps would extend, but they would seem thick. They didn't flow like normal but would stand straight up. As I look at it now, it seems to be back to normal. Flowing, extended polyps, etc. ..

Were the tentacles extending too while the polyps were thick or were they retracted? The standing up is interesting.

Did it look anything close to this:

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7190426#post7190426 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by deuce11705
Where can i find the pics you saw?

It was one picture and was kind of blurry. It was on a foreign web site.
......ah, I found it
http://santron.no/eggleggi.htm
It kind of appears to be doing what you've described, but it is hard to tell what kind of health this coral is in.

 

[deuce11705]

The tentacles were partially retracted when the polyps were thick. The pic is pretty much what we witnessed. Could it just have been expelling waste?

 

[John Kelly]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7190513#post7190513 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by deuce11705
The tentacles were partially retracted when the polyps were thick. The pic is pretty much what we witnessed. Could it just have been expelling waste?

No, it was spawning ; must be pretty similar to a sea urchin. They smoke.

Did the "smoke" come out of many polyps or just a few (or even one)? Did it come from mostly on top of the coral or the side polyps too; or could you tell?

I guess the site I linked to is in norwegian. Anyone translate?

 

[deuce11705]

i didn't see the pic you posted until just a minute ago... that's not what they looked like... The polyps were long, yet evenly thick, not thick at the bottom and skinnier at the top. The foreign pic is the one that looked like what we saw...

 

[deuce11705]

It came from many polyps, mostly on the sides, but some from the top.. it really was kinda hard to find exactly where it was coming from because it was so light.... So should we be looking for goniophytes?

 

[John Kelly]

That is probably good that it didn't look like the pic that I posted because that reaction usually happens when the goni is irritated by something in the water.

For sexual reproduction of Goniopora, I believe it takes two. A male and a female coral; so I doubt there will be any goniophytes rolling around in your tank (unfortunately ). Asexual reproduction is where the goniophytes form as buds on the colony and then drop off. The catalyst for asexual reproduction, as far as I know, is unknown.

 

[John Kelly]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7190426#post7190426 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by deuce11705
For the last couple of days, the polyps would extend, but they would seem thick. They didn't flow like normal but would stand straight up.

Did it do this all day long or just for like 15 minutes at a time?

 

[deuce11705]

As far as I can remember, they did this for a few hours each of the days and then were fine.