Goniopora Coral Size

T-MIKE · Apr 4, 2019

Hello! New to the hobby here. I got my first coral today but was surprised by how small it was. The plug is only 1" but why are the polyps so small? I'm guessing these are babies and the polyps will grow larger?

Also, how do I tell if it it healthy, looks kind of dead to me.

I also googled how to remove it and put it on the rock but I've never done it before so is it true that I just need to get a scalpel underneath it and scrape it out???

Jvesche20 · Apr 4, 2019

I’m not an expert on gonipora but I wouldn’t remove it off that plug. It looks like it’s encrusted on the frag. If you just got it today then give it some time to get used to the tank and the polyps should come out. How did you acclimate the frag?

Jvesche20 · Apr 4, 2019

Welcome to reef2reef btw!

T-MIKE · Apr 4, 2019

Jvesche20 said:
I’m not an expert on gonipora but I wouldn’t remove it off that plug. It looks like it’s encrusted on the frag. If you just got it today then give it some time to get used to the tank and the polyps should come out. How did you acclimate the frag?

I left about a cup of water in the bag and floated it on the top of my aquarium. I then added 5ml of water from the tank every hour for 4 hours. Then I added reef dip directly to the bag for 15 min and then rinsed it for 5 sec with saltwater from another bag. Placed the plug into my tank.

Jvesche20 · Apr 4, 2019

T-MIKE said:
I left about a cup of water in the bag and floated it on the top of my aquarium. I then added 5ml of water from the tank every hour for 4 hours. Then I added reef dip directly to the bag for 15 min and then rinsed it for 5 sec with saltwater from another bag. Placed the plug into my tank.

Sounds good to me. If it gets worse in the next few days then I would think something is up but since you just got it I would give it time.

T-MIKE · Apr 4, 2019

Jvesche20 said:
Sounds good to me. If it gets worse in the next few days then I would think something is up but since you just got it I would give it time.

Yeah, I'll let it chill. Nothing else I can do really, will keep checking tank chemistry.

Waynerock · Apr 4, 2019

Let it sit it’s amazing how much they expand. The skeleton on mine is the size of a quarter and expands like crazy

T-MIKE · Apr 5, 2019

Waynerock said:
Let it sit it’s amazing how much they expand. The skeleton on mine is the size of a quarter and expands like crazy

Ohhhh, looks great!

After 24 hours most of the polyps on mine came out. Not sticking out a lot but I'm guessing it will grow. Do you know how to get the Goniopora off the plug? Thank you!

Jvesche20 · Apr 6, 2019

T-MIKE said:
Ohhhh, looks great!

After 24 hours most of the polyps on mine came out. Not sticking out a lot but I'm guessing it will grow. Do you know how to get the Goniopora off the plug? Thank you!

Looks great. Why are you trying to take it off the plug?

Hemmdog · Apr 6, 2019

T-MIKE said:
Ohhhh, looks great!

After 24 hours most of the polyps on mine came out. Not sticking out a lot but I'm guessing it will grow. Do you know how to get the Goniopora off the plug? Thank you!

It’s staying on the plug, it’s encrusted.

T-MIKE · Apr 6, 2019

Jvesche20 said:
Looks great. Why are you trying to take it off the plug?

I suppose I would like it to look more natural but the guy above says it’s encrusted so I’ll probably just cut the plug if needed.

T-MIKE · Apr 6, 2019

Hemmdog said:
It’s staying on the plug, it’s encrusted.

Thanks for letting me know. How long does it take for one of these to grow? Thanks.

Hemmdog · Apr 6, 2019

T-MIKE said:
Thanks for letting me know. How long does it take for one of these to grow? Thanks.

Mine doubles in size every 6 months or so.

T-MIKE · Apr 6, 2019

Hemmdog said:
Mine doubles in size every 6 months or so.

Oh, OK. That's much slower then I was hoping but that's OK. Thanks!

albano · Apr 6, 2019

Sorry to say, but IME. not a good choice for a first coral... most people do not get long term survival from them.

IMO, 4 hr acclimation is too long... don’t try that with fish.

T-MIKE · Apr 6, 2019

albano said:
Sorry to say, but IME. not a good choice for a first coral... most people do not get long term survival from them.

IMO, 4 hr acclimation is too long... don’t try that with fish.

Yeah, I had to go to work so I left it in the bag, will try not to do that next time. It's alive though so I think it might be OK. It was on sale so I got it.