How often do you feed Gorgonias ?
- Thread starter SouL_Shaker
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SouL_Shaker
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It is said that they are none photosentetic. In order to live , they need to eat planktons.
Harry_Y
Valuable Member
Mine is at least 5 years old, it started as a 3" frag and is now about 2' tall.
(I had to trim it back as it was growing right out of the water)
I have never directly fed it
I recently read somewhere that they are indeed photosynthetic.
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SouL_Shaker
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Do you dose phytoplakton with dosing pump ?
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SouL_Shaker
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They all need medium light. In case there are low light , some kind of algae grows on it and it causes permanent polyp losses. I read it needs to eat phytoplanton periodically and medium light in case of algae growth on their body. They require light in order to survive.
Because of that gorgonians are being fed in sps and lps aquariums as well.
jedimasterben
Bubble coral sting good
Yeah, not sure where your data on gorgonians is coming from, but its not really all that correct.
The species you pictured comes from the Caribbean and is photosynthetic, coming from shallow water and are extremely light tolerant, I have not found a maximum for any Caribbean species in my limited testing.
Low light doesn't cause algae to grow on them, that's just ridiculous. They receive 1200-1500 PAR in their habitat, if anything lower than that we're considered 'low' for this species, then they would be basically impossible to keep in captivity.
Gorgonians have evolved very complex and extremely effective polyps for catching particulate food, which leans towards them relying on food capture as well as being photosynthetic for those species that are.
I don't know of any that could eat phytoplankton, as all those species i know of offhand are less than 8-10 microns in size, the gorgonia polyps are far larger than that and require much larger particulate food. They will catch things like uneaten fish food and also detritus if they can capture it.
The species you pictured comes from the Caribbean and is photosynthetic, coming from shallow water and are extremely light tolerant, I have not found a maximum for any Caribbean species in my limited testing.
Low light doesn't cause algae to grow on them, that's just ridiculous. They receive 1200-1500 PAR in their habitat, if anything lower than that we're considered 'low' for this species, then they would be basically impossible to keep in captivity.
Gorgonians have evolved very complex and extremely effective polyps for catching particulate food, which leans towards them relying on food capture as well as being photosynthetic for those species that are.
I don't know of any that could eat phytoplankton, as all those species i know of offhand are less than 8-10 microns in size, the gorgonia polyps are far larger than that and require much larger particulate food. They will catch things like uneaten fish food and also detritus if they can capture it.
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SouL_Shaker
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Aquarium shop told me informations I provided.
I feed mine with fauna marin gorgonia foods. And in order to make sure , I hold the food in ultra pac for a day for their polyps.
Unless you have ultra pac on coral food , they don't eat them all. This brings me at your point. They can catch bigger foods.
I used to research on the net. Everybody suggested me fauna
marin coral foods.
jedimasterben
Bubble coral sting good
You're going to find no realistic difference in the Fauna Marin foods than any others. They're all made with only slight variations in the types and quantities of the products they're made with. People will fight and fight and fight on this, saying that one is better than another, but that is something that is nearly impossible to quantify and there is no real data on the subject. That being said, if you like the FM foods, then keep buying them, but if they are not easily attainable or are too expensive, don't hesitate to switch to another brand.
As for gorgonians not eating food unless it has 'ultra pac' on it, whatever that means, is completely false. The foods don't need to be covered or soaked in anything - if the food is the right size and flow is not too fast, the gorgonians will catch it.
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Gorgonias have a vary great number of styles and needs. I cannot be sure from your picture, but it looks like you have a dark black or purple base and pink polyps? Normally, any gorg with other than tan polyps is non-photosynthetic. Some exceptions, but good rule to follow. Could be lighting that makes it look pink.
What were you sold it as a species? NPS (non photosynthetic) gorgs can be very tricky and need lots of food and flow. The others are rather easy as long as you have good light, flow, and do feed your tank a variety of foods like you would for corals. Flow is key with these guys as they like the tidal back and forth swaying motion. Some need to be put in specific directions to your flow.
Also, keeping one or three is not bad depending on size of tank, but more than that and you will begin to notice degradation in other corals (expecially lps). They are top notch toxic warfare animals. Be careful.
How long have you had it? When do its polyps come out? Do you have it in direct light and what light?
What were you sold it as a species? NPS (non photosynthetic) gorgs can be very tricky and need lots of food and flow. The others are rather easy as long as you have good light, flow, and do feed your tank a variety of foods like you would for corals. Flow is key with these guys as they like the tidal back and forth swaying motion. Some need to be put in specific directions to your flow.
Also, keeping one or three is not bad depending on size of tank, but more than that and you will begin to notice degradation in other corals (expecially lps). They are top notch toxic warfare animals. Be careful.
How long have you had it? When do its polyps come out? Do you have it in direct light and what light?
SteveSTL
Active Member
I have both kinds - the photosynthetic one was a twig when I got it and now has about 8 branches (about a year old). I just got 2 blueberries which I feed a mixture of Reef Roids and Reef Chili twice a week to my Goni, zoas, palys, etc.
