Yellow Finger Gorgonian Help

[SideCar_Falcon619]

Any and all advice on your successful keeping of these corals would help! Especially what and how you feed.

 

Pictures are also great!

 

Thanks friends!

[Clown79]

Its a non photosynthetic coral, its polyps come out at night. It requires moderate to high intermittent flow.

 

They should not be kept close to other corals or anemones.

 

It needs feeding multiple times a week with filter feeding foods.

[SideCar_Falcon619]

Lately I've been spot feeding it marine snow. Good or bad?

[Clown79]

Marine snow is good. 2-3 times a week should be fine. Turn your pumps of when you feed, that seems to help with corals.

[dan796]

Where is an inexpensive place to buy Gorgonians ?

It's the shipping costs that discourage me !

[ReefWeeds]

Yellow fingers are very difficult in my experience. If any algae grows on them, the branch will die in pretty short order so keep an eye out for that. They like some meatier foods like mini mysis as well or baby brine shrimp. Also, keep it out of direct light to discourage algae growth.

[Lawnman]

On 12/10/2016 at 3:37 PM, dan796 said:

Where is an inexpensive place to buy Gorgonians ?

It's the shipping costs that discourage me !

Kpaquatics.com

On 12/10/2016 at 3:46 PM, stellablue said:

Yellow fingers are very difficult in my experience. If any algae grows on them, the branch will die in pretty short order so keep an eye out for that. They like some meatier foods like mini mysis as well or baby brine shrimp. Also, keep it out of direct light to discourage algae growth.

DEAD!!!! it hung on for 2 months and my tank had a nasty algae bloom from trying to keep it fed.

 

[dan796]

I just checked them out! They are AWESOME!!

THANK YOU SO MUCH !!

 

I have a 3 gallon pico, and a 10 gallon pico w/10 gallon sump set up right now. @ 8 months and 1 year old.

But, I'm about to setup a 35 gallon hex w/ a 29 gallon sump, and a 29 gallon with a 20 long sump!

So now I know where to go for stocking!

 

Can you suggest any other dealers in this price range? Especially shipping wise ? (cheaper !)

Thanks again!

[jestep]

I just checked them out! They are AWESOME!!

THANK YOU SO MUCH !!

 

I have a 3 gallon pico, and a 10 gallon pico w/10 gallon sump set up right now. @ 8 months and 1 year old.

But, I'm about to setup a 35 gallon hex w/ a 29 gallon sump, and a 29 gallon with a 20 long sump!

So now I know where to go for stocking!

 

Can you suggest any other dealers in this price range? Especially shipping wise ? (cheaper !)

Thanks again!

 

Have you looked at photosynthetic gorgonians? The survival rate of NPS gorgs and NPS coral in general in home tanks is probably closer to zero than even 1 or 2 percent. People are going to keep what they want but NPS livestock is something that should be rare and expensive.

[ReefWeeds]

I just checked them out! They are AWESOME!!

THANK YOU SO MUCH !!

 

I have a 3 gallon pico, and a 10 gallon pico w/10 gallon sump set up right now. @ 8 months and 1 year old.

But, I'm about to setup a 35 gallon hex w/ a 29 gallon sump, and a 29 gallon with a 20 long sump!

So now I know where to go for stocking!

 

Can you suggest any other dealers in this price range? Especially shipping wise ? (cheaper !)

Thanks again!

I don't know that you're going to find cheap shipping for live stock. Live-plants.com does have photosynthetic gorgs and they ship two day so that's the only place I know that has cheaper shipping. Live aquaria ships overnight for $30.

Have you looked at photosynthetic gorgonians? The survival rate of NPS gorgs and NPS coral in general in home tanks is probably closer to zero than even 1 or 2 percent. People are going to keep what they want but NPS livestock is something that should be rare and expensive.

I agree with this. NPS gorgs especially are very hard to keep alive. Dendros and such a bit easier since they're easier to feed but still difficult.

[Clown79]

I never tried a gorg for that reason, everything i read says its pretty hard to maintain them for long.

 

Dendros are cool but if not fed 3x a week they just go downhill very quickly.

 

Carnation corals are the same.

 

Most NPS just don't mske it because we can't provide the amount of food they require without polluting the tank.

[JoeR]

Hmm. I didn't realize how difficult NPS gorgs are to keep alive. My LFS had them today for $7.99 so I bought one. It was a frustrating event though; It was too big for my 3 gallon pico, so I cut one branch off and put the rest in my 8 gallon. I reallyyy hope it survives, it was a stressful day for it. Had to move it back and forth, out of the water briefly. Suckkked.

 

Anyway the guys at the LFS told me to dose PhytoPure every few days so that's what I bought. They claim it can last up to 4 months in the fridge, and told me how to check it but I forgot already lol- anyone know?

 

So has anyone had more recent experience with these? Ever give em a shot  @Clown79?

[GregEmmitte]

Feed it when you feed your fish. It'll eat mysis and cyclopeze, oyster eggs. They're carnivorous and have large polyps. They'll open in light though I keep mine in a dark part of the tank. If any cyno, algae, detritus get on them it'll rot away thier tissue. I've had much better success with other NPS gorgs. I have a dedicated tank, but as long as you can keep thier flesh clean and feed them they should be ok.

[Clown79]

3 hours ago, JoeR said:

Hmm. I didn't realize how difficult NPS gorgs are to keep alive. My LFS had them today for $7.99 so I bought one. It was a frustrating event though; It was too big for my 3 gallon pico, so I cut one branch off and put the rest in my 8 gallon. I reallyyy hope it survives, it was a stressful day for it. Had to move it back and forth, out of the water briefly. Suckkked.

 

Anyway the guys at the LFS told me to dose PhytoPure every few days so that's what I bought. They claim it can last up to 4 months in the fridge, and told me how to check it but I forgot already lol- anyone know?

 

So has anyone had more recent experience with these? Ever give em a shot  @Clown79?

No I won't do one.

 

I find using phyto and zooplankton adds to nutrient levels which always causes algae.

I have a bottle of zooplankton in my fridge wasting away because everyone I use it (Even tiny amounts) I get algae issues.

 

If I had a large tank I would but with smaller tanks I prefer to not get into nps.

I did a dendro. I traded it in.

[JoeR]

6 hours ago, GregEmmitte said:

Feed it when you feed your fish. It'll eat mysis and cyclopeze, oyster eggs. They're carnivorous and have large polyps. They'll open in light though I keep mine in a dark part of the tank. If any cyno, algae, detritus get on them it'll rot away thier tissue. I've had much better success with other NPS gorgs. I have a dedicated tank, but as long as you can keep thier flesh clean and feed them they should be ok.

I already feed my fish and acans mysis, so definitely good to know they'll take that too. But are you saying they don't really eat the Phyto?

 

im putting it in the darkest part of the tank, though I still wouldn't say it's in a 'dark' spot. I'll have to stay on top of keeping it clean and algae free for sure

4 hours ago, Clown79 said:

No I won't do one.

 

I find using phyto and zooplankton adds to nutrient levels which always causes algae.

I have a bottle of zooplankton in my fridge wasting away because everyone I use it (Even tiny amounts) I get algae issues.

 

If I had a large tank I would but with smaller tanks I prefer to not get into nps.

I did a dendro. I traded it in.

That would be really annoying if I start getting algae problems from it. I'm still battleing cyano too so let's hope for no added issues; I may just have to do more frequent or larger water changes?

[GregEmmitte]

31 minutes ago, JoeR said:

I already feed my fish and acans mysis, so definitely good to know they'll take that too. But are you saying they don't really eat the Phyto?

 

im putting it in the darkest part of the tank, though I still wouldn't say it's in a 'dark' spot. I'll have to stay on top of keeping it clean and algae free for sure

That would be really annoying if I start getting algae problems from it. I'm still battleing cyano too so let's hope for no added issues; I may just have to do more frequent or larger water changes?

No. I'm not saying they don't eat phyto. I don't have the equipment to verify that myself. These animals are all designed to consume different things. Dendrophyllia for example has a large mouth and large polyps. The polyps are sticky and have the ability to catch large meaty food. I'd bet phyto just passes over them.

on the opposite end, dendronephthya has very small weak polyps covered in mucus and can only catch near inanimate life that won't try to get away ( phytoplankton for example ).

So when I look at a red finger gorg and see the large polyps I can tell they're designed for consuming meaty foods. 

These red and yellow finger gorgs are deep water Caribbean species. Light, detritus, and cyno typically cause them to waste away. 

[JoeR]

2 minutes ago, GregEmmitte said:

No. I'm not saying they don't eat phyto. I don't have the equipment to verify that myself. These animals are all designed to consume different things. Dendrophyllia for example has a large mouth and large polyps. The polyps are sticky and have the ability to catch large meaty food. I'd bet phyto just passes over them.

on the opposite end, dendronephthya has very small weak polyps covered in mucus and can only catch near inanimate life that won't try to get away ( phytoplankton for example ).

So when I look at a red finger gorg and see the large polyps I can tell they're designed for consuming meaty foods. 

These red and yellow finger gorgs are deep water Caribbean species. Light, detritus, and cyno typically cause them to waste away. 

No you completely make sense; the large polyps (which have yet to come out for me) would logically be for larger food. That would really annoy me if they sold me a (perishable) $25 bottle of useless stuff, especially since they knew how small my tanks are. Thanks for your input by the way

[GregEmmitte]

Your problems with Cyno come from the following: Too long lighting schedule. Too much feeding. Not enough flow. Or not enough oxygen.

[GregEmmitte]

3 minutes ago, JoeR said:

No you completely make sense; the large polyps (which have yet to come out for me) would logically be for larger food. That would really annoy me if they sold me a (perishable) $25 bottle of useless stuff, especially since they knew how small my tanks are. Thanks for your input by the way

Very welcome. The Caribbean offers an orange tree gorgonian that has red and orange polyps. It's really pretty and I've got it next to some photosynthetic carnations and it doesn't seem to suffer any disadvantages from light. It's NPS.

heres a picture.. I'm out of space lol.

http://www.seahorseaquariums.com/Orange-Tree-Gorgonian/1120

[Clown79]

Cyano:

 

Too high nutrients caused by

 

-Too much feeding/high bioload

-Maintenance issues-something not being done

- lack of flow

 

 

Here is some info on phyto

 

https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/phyto.html

 

https://www.google.ca/amp/www.saltwateraquariumblog.com/home-cultures-phyto-rotifers-copepods/dosing-phytoplankton-in-a-marine-aquarium/amp/

 

Nps Gorgonian feeds on: 
Zooplankton, eggs/larvae, possibly bacterioplankton and detritus. Food should be no larger than frozen cyclopeeze, with the majority being much smaller such as rotifers. Polyps will retract without constant food in the water.

 

 

 

I'd personally return the phytoplankton. If you don't have much in the tank that will feed on it, it will cause you nutrient issues.

 

 

[GregEmmitte]

I lean towards dosing phyto as irrelevant unless you have specific creatures that need it. Sponges, clams, scleronephthya, bivalves. Photosynthetic reef tanks will do fine without dosing phyto. If you do dose phyto it's best to use live phytoplankton.

[Ebn]

Yep, skip the phyto if you're trying to feed the gorgonian. Here's a non-photosynthetic Menella sp.

 

 

Polyps are out throughout the day since I feed the fish multiple times. The polyps are small and cannot consume anything larger than reef caviar. Does fine picking off the smaller particles though, such as oyster eggs.

 

[JoeR]

10 hours ago, GregEmmitte said:

Your problems with Cyno come from the following: Too long lighting schedule. Too much feeding. Not enough flow. Or not enough oxygen.

I didn't even think about it being related to lighting. Now that you mention it, that must be the problem- my other params are perfect so it's not caused by overfeeding/overstocking. But it could also be low flow or oxygen though I don't know how I would I know if either of those are the problem?

[JoeR]

7 hours ago, Clown79 said:

Cyano:

 

Too high nutrients caused by

 

-Too much feeding/high bioload

-Maintenance issues-something not being done

- lack of flow

 

 

Here is some info on phyto

 

https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/phyto.html

 

https://www.google.ca/amp/www.saltwateraquariumblog.com/home-cultures-phyto-rotifers-copepods/dosing-phytoplankton-in-a-marine-aquarium/amp/

 

Nps Gorgonian feeds on: 
Zooplankton, eggs/larvae, possibly bacterioplankton and detritus. Food should be no larger than frozen cyclopeeze, with the majority being much smaller such as rotifers. Polyps will retract without constant food in the water.

 

 

 

I'd personally return the phytoplankton. If you don't have much in the tank that will feed on it, it will cause you nutrient issues.

 

 

I don't think they will allow me to return it since it's perishable and I used half a capful already. The stores 2 hours away anyway

 

i also made a mistake- the stuff is called PHYCOpure not phytopure. It's got several different ingredients in it

[GregEmmitte]

25 minutes ago, Ebn said:

Yep, skip the phyto if you're trying to feed the gorgonian. Here's a non-photosynthetic Menella sp.

 

 

Polyps are out throughout the day since I feed the fish multiple times. The polyps are small and cannot consume anything larger than reef caviar. Does fine picking off the smaller particles though, such as oyster eggs.

 

Yep, and these can withstand light. I have this and the purple one. Would love the red one.

25 minutes ago, JoeR said:

I didn't even think about it being related to lighting. Now that you mention it, that must be the problem- my other params are perfect so it's not caused by overfeeding/overstocking. But it could also be low flow or oxygen though I don't know how I would I know if either of those are the problem?

I've read high O2 levels prevent cyno. Lighting definitely grows it.