Gorg growing from nothing

Paul B · Jan 15, 2011

I have a 15 gallon unheated tank in my workshop where I keep a burrfish and some local snails. The temp is 64 degrees.
Today I noticed a coral growing from the bottom glass that looks just like a gorgonian I have growing in my reef. I use my used reef water in this tank for water changes and am amazed that this thing is growing in such a cold, dirty tank. There are about 12 polyps on it and the base is as large as a dime.
Very wierd. Hard to get a picture because that tank has a lot of sediment and the thing is toward the rear. I don't want to move it until it gets larger and I can stick it to a rock.
It is in the tank with this guy.

And it looks like the gorg on the far left side of this picture

jaesong · Jan 17, 2011

oh: Amazing bottle corals.

Paul B · Jan 17, 2011

That fish I collected in the Atlantic Ocean in New York, his northern range is Chesepeke Bay which gets much colder than 62 degrees. The snails are local NY snails. The water where they are living by the truckloads is the Long Island Sound which is today about 38 degrees so they are nice and toasty.
The bottle corals also don't seem to mind.
I can't really put him in my 40 year old reef tank unless I just want one fat burrfish and nothing else.
I have a call into a public aquarium where I have been trying to donate him.

I found out where that gorgonian came from.
I threw a dead one in this tank a month ago and it started to grow stuck to the bottom glass.
It would not grow in my reef but it is thriving in this dirty, unheated, un lit puffer tank.
It came from this gorg which was a dead stick when I put it in there.