Is my gorgonia dying or shedding?

[Bolen2]

Hey guys and gals, I received a purple gorgonian from LiveAquaria yesterday and I’m not sure if it’s dying or shedding. I’ve never had them before but I’ve researched quite a bit before getting it but I’m still not sure if this is normal. It hasn’t opened up at all since I acclimated and placed it in the aquarium. It looks like it has little strings of mucus coming off of it. I can’t tell if it’s shedding or in early stages of disintegration.
Aquarium is a 55 with a 20 gallon sump, salinity is 1.026, lighting is medium, flow is indirect high flow. Thanks for any help.

 

[Tankkeepers]

Unless you are going to try to feed it, the clock is ticking. The only gorgonians that do well in aquaria are brown and pink, everything else will require some sort of feeding. Unfortunately the feeding for this corals is still unknown

I mean all colourful gorgonians ( Non photosynthetic ) will eventually starve

Still confused here do you mean polyp color or tissue on skeleton color

They are diffrent

Mine is purple with brown polyps and is photosynthetic

 

[Tankkeepers]

Color wise I know of white and brown polyps with green blue and purple tissues all photosynthetic

 

[Koh23]

Just leave it.....

Mine occasionaly turn into brown stick, few daya later, its biger and opened than before.....

She can react in such way on really minor changes in flow, lighting, everyrhing...

 

[sixty_reefer]

Still confused here do you mean polyp color or tissue on skeleton color

They are diffrent

Mine is purple with brown polyps and is photosynthetic

Are you sure it’s photosynthetic? A better description will be of a tan colou on skeleton and polyps everything else will be nps

 

[Tankkeepers]

Are you sure it’s photosynthetic? A better description will be of a tan colou on skeleton and polyps everything else will be nps

100 percent sure had it for 2 years now and if I didn't cut it back would take up the entire 32 biocube it's in

It's a purple with brown polyps photosynthetic one

Also the purple with brown polyps is the most common color that is photosynthetic

Blue less common

Hunter Green very rare

Seen 1 yellow orange one in my life

These 3 have white polyps

All IRL house by many years by people I know

All were photosynthetic

I have never in my life seen any other polyp color other then white or brown

So I ask again exactly what type of gorgonian has pink polyps and is photosynthetic?

I WANT ONE IF IT EXISTS

 

[albano]

Gorgonians are very sensitive to the toxins soft coral produce so ya gotta have carbon IME with a gorgonian

While this may be true, I’ve had XL tanks full of gorgs and soft corals for many years and have never run carbon…

First started with gorgs in 1980s when I was helping a friend that owned a LFS, and he knew nothing about reef tanks. Actually went to Florida Keys to meet wholesalers and set up accounts for him.

current 500g. 6’x5’ softy tank

 

[Tankkeepers]

While this may be true, I’ve had XL tanks full of gorgs and soft corals for many years and have never run carbon…

First started with gorgs in 1980s when I was helping a friend that owned a LFS, and he knew nothing about reef tanks. Actually went to Florida Keys to meet wholesalers and set up accounts for him.

current 500g. 6’x5’ softy tank

Very pretty and possibly lucky

I just almost lost my purple cuz a of a shroom

 

[Wasabiroot]

It's very possible to keep NPS gorgonians (blueberry, for example) but they need heavy feeding and lots of phyto/microscopic food several times a day. One day I'd love to do a NPS nano tank.

I think in general all gorgonians respond well to phytoplankton as that's their primary food source in the wild.

 

[Wasabiroot]

While this may be true, I’ve had XL tanks full of gorgs and soft corals for many years and have never run carbon…

First started with gorgs in 1980s when I was helping a friend that owned a LFS, and he knew nothing about reef tanks. Actually went to Florida Keys to meet wholesalers and set up accounts for him.

current 500g. 6’x5’ softy tank

Beautiful tank!!!!

 

[Tankkeepers]

It's very possible to keep NPS gorgonians (blueberry, for example) but they need heavy feeding and lots of phyto/microscopic food several times a day. One day I'd love to do a NPS nano tank.

I think in general all gorgonians respond well to phytoplankton as that's their primary food source in the wild.

Mine certainly responds well to feeding but mine will eat anything it can grab iv watched a single polyp eat and entire mysis shrimp before took an hour but it got it done I assume it digested it as it swallowed

Mine is photosynthetic tho I know nothing about the nps variety

 

[sixty_reefer]

100 percent sure had it for 2 years now and if I didn't cut it back would take up the entire 32 biocube it's in

It's a purple with brown polyps photosynthetic one

Also the purple with brown polyps is the most common color that is photosynthetic

Blue less common

Hunter Green very rare

Seen 1 yellow orange one in my life

These 3 have white polyps

All IRL house by many years by people I know

All were photosynthetic

I have never in my life seen any other polyp color other then white or brown

So I ask again exactly what type of gorgonian has pink polyps and is photosynthetic?

I WANT ONE IF IT EXISTS

@albano just posted a DT picture of his thank, the pink/tan photosynthetic gorgonians is on the centre of his tank. Do you mind sharing a picture of your gorgonian? Am really interested in seeing the specie you have. Maybe you doing something differently regarding feeding.

 

[sixty_reefer]

It's very possible to keep NPS gorgonians (blueberry, for example) but they need heavy feeding and lots of phyto/microscopic food several times a day. One day I'd love to do a NPS nano tank.

I think in general all gorgonians respond well to phytoplankton as that's their primary food source in the wild.

Blueberry and Carnation coral are the holy grail in the hobby, the person who figure what they eat and keep them alive for two years plus will do really well.

 

[Bolen2]

To answer a few questions, the gorgonian that I have is photosynthetic. The one that dissolved arrived looking to be in bad condition. It looked sort of bleached and all the polyps were so closed up it looked almost like it had none at all. I have always run carbon in my systems no matter what I was keeping so toxins and I had no other corals in bad condition at the time this took place. As I mentioned earlier it arrived here looking as though it was already dead. I target feed all of my corals regardless of whether they are photosynthetic or not, to include the new gorgonian which arrived in perfect health and has continued to be. I appreciate the input from everyone.

 

[LucentFish]

To answer a few questions, the gorgonian that I have is photosynthetic. The one that dissolved arrived looking to be in bad condition. It looked sort of bleached and all the polyps were so closed up it looked almost like it had none at all. I have always run carbon in my systems no matter what I was keeping so toxins and I had no other corals in bad condition at the time this took place. As I mentioned earlier it arrived here looking as though it was already dead. I target feed all of my corals regardless of whether they are photosynthetic or not, to include the new gorgonian which arrived in perfect health and has continued to be. I appreciate the input from everyone.

Possibly it was distressed and in too much flow. I have one doing great, decided to get two more of the same type. One of the two new ones were all closed up like yours until i adjusted where the wavemaker was near it, and now its open with nice PE.