Ganipora In Nano

[BRIANSTINYREEF]

THESE ARE VERY PRETTY. MY FRIEND HAS HAD 3 OF THEM IN HIS 100 GALLON REEF FOR 4 YRS DOING VERY WELL. ANYONE HAVE ONE IN NANO REEF? I KNOW CHRIS SAYS DONT DO IT? BUT OTHER OPINIONS?

[Physh1]

Please hit the CAPS LOCK button and stop typing everything in UPPER CASE.....it's annoying to read and irritating.....

 

Now to your question.....I would avoid adding them to nano reefs. They are very hard corals to keep and require very stable water qualities. Housing one is a nano makes the hard job harder and more comlicated. They really don't do well in tanks period but if you did keep one I'd really try to keep them in larger reefs.....for instance 50 plus gallons....

 

I'm sure some have tried it but can't offer and personal experiences here......I do know that the addition of phytoplankton foods helps extend their lifespan but still believe they should not be kept in captivity....too difuculy for many hobbiests IMO.

 

Cameron

[tinyreef]

there's a very good article on reefs.org by sprung on gonio/alveo's. i think it's in their online magazine thingy around september or so.

 

FWIW these are corals even experts stay away from. everything has to be perfect for these corals (unless you're so lucky to get one of the true hardy ones sprung discusses). water, food chain, lighting, water motion, positioning, and inhabitants all have to be in synch and then maybe it'll survive for a while.

 

read the article and do some research on gono's imho.

[Crakeur]

I have only had bad experiences. they always seem to be half dead in the stores, I have heard their life span in captivity is short although my dad had one for over a year but they always seem to die and they are dangerous to anything within range of their long sweepers.

 

Translation? Either keep one in the tank, and nothing else or stay away. If you find a real tiny one it might be worth the attempt but, as I said, I have never heard of anyone having prolonged success and even the one my dad had that lasted over a year managed to kill a ton of other critters with it's ultra long sweepers.

[technoshaman]

These bomb out frequently in the wild too or are susceptible to all sorts of wierd problems. Eric Borneman had a post on this subject on RC board last month.

 

FWIW I have been told that nutrient rich water (not overskimmed) seems to work better with these. The fact that many nanos do not seem to actively skim might make them a suitable environs. However the overall small water volume and abysmal captive track record make them a poor choice.

[quiksilver5768]

Really, you dont want "perfect water", you want what could be known as "dirty water". Gonipora requires very nutrient rich water...and having all these excess nutrients that Gonipora corals want and need are usually exported out of our tank by skimmers, water changes and such because they make our tanks look bad (such as algae blooms and what not). Another example of excess nutrients in the tank is when you see surface scum.

 

And no offense to you or your friend...but i highly doubt that your friend has kept 3 of them in a 100 gal reef for 4 years. Aquariums cant even keep these specimens alive for that long. Prove me wrong though and i'll be amazeds:happy: ...

[Metznreef]

i had two very small (less than an inch) gonioporas in my 7 that came in the bag with the big ones we got in at the lfs a work at. my boss said i could have them so i just though what the hell. they were doing real weel for a month or so but they were so small the current kept blowing them around unttill finally i couldn't find them anymore. by the time i found them they were almost dead already and dies in a couple of days. i honestly thin kmine would have done well if i could have found some way to anchor them.

[chvynva916]

This is a little off the subject but do you guys really think its unethical to keep a species like gonipora or alvepora? 40 years ago keeping any of the stuff we keep in 1-20g tanks would be unheard of and perhaps unethical. Someone had to experiment to figure this stuff out. Maybe eventually by keeping these species we'll figure it out. What do you guys think?

[tinyreef]

chvy,

i think it's borderline (imo). acros are very successfully propagated now as are many softies. and clams are very successfully aquacultured to the point of being foodstock.

 

BUT gonio/alveo/elegance/carpets are universally recognized as truely difficult animals. as i mentioned before, even the pros handle these carefully. they are truly gorgeous animals and that is driving the market and depletions in the wild and not their ease of care.

 

mo is that it's a little selfish and reckless to try rear those animals. btw i'd dearly like to raise another elegance myself. i had one for almost two years before losing it to separate successive instances of injury and infection, but i refrain because of the current weak stock available and seemingly low reproduction rate. imo a conscious decision should be made on whether or not one is able to rear these (or other) difficult corals. not just an 'ooo, pretty flowerpot coral' purchase for a new tank.

 

you want to spend the $$$, go ahead. most gonios die even on the experts in a matter of a year. i don't even pretend to think i could keep them but it's not my $$$ being spent.

 

btw, in my previous post i said sprung's article but actually i think it's siegal's and borneman's two different articles i had mashed up in my head. i thought sprung had wrote something on it recently (discussing the magic bullet for it, etc.)

 

oh well. sorry, about the mixup. old age will come to you too. X)

[matteo_gugliotta]

I have one in my 15g nano since one month.

I bought it because the cost was very attractive: 25€.

It's seems to feel very well till now.

I'll keep you posted.

[Deimos]

Tiny,

 

You were right about the Sprung article in Advanced Aquarist Online..its in the December issue ( I think..lol) and the new proposed silver bullet is iron and manganese supplementation..but..we'll see. Also..I'd like to point out that there are several "easier" gonioporas and alveoporas to keep. Red goniopora (not entirely sure of the sci. name) is one of those easier species as is Alveopora japonica. The Green goni's with the very large polyps are the ones to REALLY avoid..if you're even considering keeping a goni at all.

 

HTH...

[tinyreef]

when are they going to find a cure for Alzheimer's? ???

 

thanks deimos! i was getting worried there that the voices in my head was making this stuff up. :

[Dave ESPI]

with all being said already.... to answer the question......

no.

[SoS]

eehem.... Maybe I got lucky. My several month old growing like crazy, Alveopora Gigas (knocks on wood),

 

STAY AWAY FROM GONIOPORA!!!:

 

Luv this guy, Alveopora Gigas

 

[Brianc_4]

Goniopora is a beautiful coral with a terrible track record. It seems that most experienced reef keepers can hang on for about two years and then they go downhill. I have read some interesting articles in the past about why they actually may have more success in a nano rather than in a large reef tank. Most collected species come from lagoon type settings with murky water absoloutely packed with phytoplankton and much richer in trace elements than in the open sea. It would seem that it would be easier to keep these sort of conditions in a smaller volume of water. I have recently kept a goniopora that is in great shape, in fact it is showing a lot of new polyp growth, and the existing polyps are extending waaaaay further than when I first got the coral. I, by no means am declaring success with goniopora, the time span is way too short. If it was still this successful three or four years from now I would be much more excited. However, I think it is worth the attempt, if you are serious about dedicating your tank to the goniopora and willing to track and document what you have done so there is a chance for you, and others to learn from your mistakes and successes.

Unfortunately, I am going to bring the goniopora back to an LFS for trade, or if someone in the boston area is serious about keeping it, and would like to trade please contact me. It has just got too large for my 20h if I want to keep anything else. I would like to start a tank of similair size for just goniopora, but the timing, space in my home, and finances to set up a new tank right now is just wrong. Here is a pic, I use b-ionic, large doses of DTS daily, iodine and strontium.

Good luck

[leaky]

i swear that a gonipora is what really helped my tank rid of an algae problem I had. my skimmerless tank had a bad hair algae problem for a while and I had added a gonipora before I figured out it was not easy to keep. anyways after I added it all the algae disapeared and the goni seemed to be thriving as its polyps were extended fully all the time... my tank was looking really good. I gave it away to someone who knew more about them and had, what had seemed, a better home. apperently his tank had skimming and the whole bit. the gonipora was receding in health. that friend has just recently gave it away to someone else who is not skimming just to see if it recovers again under the skimerless system. it will be interesting to see what happens...