Gorgonians

[BBDreef]

I was looking at this very cool Gorgonian at my LFS. It was being sold for $30. It was red with yellow polyps. I was wondering if it would be okay for my tank BC 29G. I read somewhere that they are hard to keep alive. Is that true? What do they eat? Any other info about them is greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks

[oceanhighz]

without a picture it is hard to tell you whether it would do well or not. Truth is, there are a few species with that color pattern. What I can tell you is that if it is a species that feeds on phytoplankton, you will see it slowly doe over time. If it is a primarily photosynthetic species, it could do well, depending on what intensity light that particular species likes.

 

Maybe try to find the closest picture to it online as you can and we can help more

[Ben314z]

Hey BBD-

 

Gorgs tend to be high maintenance corals. They have multiple special needs. You might consider checking out this thread of someone who picked up a Gorg similar to the one you described.

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...mp;hl=gorgonian

 

without a picture it is hard to tell you whether it would do well or not

+1 on the pic

 

Here is an article about by Rob Toonen about Gorgs and proper husbandry as well:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/mar2002/toonen.htm

 

As you can see they need the right food, the right flow, the correct light for the species, they even need to be cleaned every now and then... Unless you are willing to commit to everything that it takes to care for one properly, I would probably stay away from them. Good luck!

 

Ben

[BBDreef]

It looked similar to this. But the red was quite darker, and it had very thin branches.

 

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=htt...l%3Den%26sa%3DG

[BBDreef]

It looked exactly the same as the one that BrassMonkey030 posted.

[shred5]

I find photosynthetic species easy to keep.

 

Non-photosynthetic species are much harder but are easy to keep if fed and kept in a tank that is specifically set up for them and other corals that require feeding. They are not usually good for a reef that is low nutrients, You will need a heavy skimmer and a good fuge for to keep them.

 

The one you are talking about sounds like a Non-photosynthetic

 

Here are some pics of my gorgonia. The first is from my 30 and the next two are from my 40 that is no longer up. The pics of the last two are like 8 + years old.

 

Dave

 

 

 

 

[fishstick41]

nice Gorgonians sherd =\

[BytheSea]

I was looking at this very cool Gorgonian at my LFS. It was being sold for $30. It was red with yellow polyps. I was wondering if it would be okay for my tank BC 29G. I read somewhere that they are hard to keep alive. Is that true? What do they eat? Any other info about them is greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

Sounds to me like a "Diodogorgia" (finger sea fan. red finger). Which are non-photosynthetic, require weekly feedings, med-strong water flow, get about 4" to 10" tall, on a scale 1-10 hardiness about a 6.

[dweakl01]

You need these...