pseudopterogorgia elisabethae: any experience?

[Mary Carmen]

I got this beautiful coral this morning. After I acclimated it to the tank, it opened up right away. It surprised me that it just opened up.
I read that it likes good flow and although it is photosynthetic, it does better if feed phytoplankton. Does anyone know more about this coral? It is beautiful.

 

[29bonsaireef]

That's a nice one, lots of flow and lots of light.

 

[Gareth elliott]

I feed gorgs with my fish, with brine or krill, mix in coral gumbo, rotifers and cyclopods this way everyone gets fed together and dont have to feed just coral foods. Which being freeze dried are easier to overfeed and polute with.
Most of my fish also readily eat the planktonic foods, well the wrasses and clowns do, the dwarf angel mostly picks at algae and snacks during feedings.

 

[Mary Carmen]

Thank you to both. I will add a picture when the lights go on and the polyps are extended (they look like white dots).
Can I feed it reef roids then?

 

[Mary Carmen]

This is it with all lights on. I gave it reef roids since I was feeding the other corals.
Someone let me know if that is a waste od RR.
Thank you for your time!

 

[jefra]

I have a dozen or so species of Caribbean gorgonians, but not this one. White poylps suggest that it's non-photosynthetic, but polyp extension during the day suggests the opposite. Are you certain it's Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae? Exact identification of gorgonians can be difficult.

If it absolutely is P. elisabethae, this source claims it's non-photosynethic and I'd consider reef roids to be a good diet but variety is important to ensure food of appropriate micron size is offered. Feeding at night may be better.

 

[Mary Carmen]

Not sure if it is. Here is a close up picture of the polyps. I guess it loved Reef Roids.
Any help figuring out if it is a P. Elizabethae is appreciated.

 

[Gareth elliott]

If can get a picture when its polyps are retracted the texture of this coral will help id vs similar corals but does look like p. Elizabethe.

 

[Mary Carmen]

I will wait until the lights are out. I think it retracts at night.

 

[AltitudeAquarium]

I got this beautiful coral this morning. After I acclimated it to the tank, it opened up right away. It surprised me that it just opened up.
I read that it likes good flow and although it is photosynthetic, it does better if feed phytoplankton. Does anyone know more about this coral? It is beautiful.

I've got coral envy right now. It's be-e-utiful.

 

[Mary Carmen]

These are two pictures with the lights off. The quality is not very good, but you can see the difference in the polyps’s extension. In some areas, the coral seems smooth, as if it didn’t have polyps.
When I read the article that jefra linked to the comment I understood that this coral has a symbiotic relationship with Zoathancella but also eats phytoplankton and other elements in the water through the polyps. Let me know if I am wrong but it seems to me that this coral needs both things: light and marine plankton.
I usually spot feed Reef Roids to all my corals once a week, so I might do this too and see how it goes.
Any thoughts are welcome!
Thank you!

 

[VR28man]

Random thoughts:

First, this is a soft coral not an SPS. (no worries at all )

Second, Pseudopterogorgia was originally identified as a species of nonphotosynthetic Pacific gorgonian AND photosynthetic Atlantic gorgonian. Surprise surprise, in the past decade they did genome sequencing and found the Pacific and Atlantic "branches" were completely different geni. The photosynthetic Atlantic species are now Antillogorgia.

Third, how do you know it's A. elisabethae? Not saying you're wrong, just curious. BECAUSE:

A. elisabethae is a deep-ish water species - 25-60meters (75-180 feet) in depth (www.mesophotic.org/system/publications/pdfs/000/000/191/.../Kinzie-1973a.pdf), so it theoretically should not like a whole bunch of light, and would theoretically be best with deep water SPS like acros, leptos, favites/favias, etc. HOWEVER a very similar species, A. bipinnata, lives in shallower water and would be good in the average SPS tank. This is because the genus Antillogorgia generally lives on reef slopes, with acroporas and the like (no montis, poccis, birdsnests, etc. in the Atlantic). According to Nova U in Florida, the difference is that "[elisabehtae is] similar to Antillogorgia bipinnata but with pinnules thicker, more widely spaced, and not regularly distributed". Based on your pictures, I guess it is elisabethae.

Finally, I own neither species (but am thinking of bipinnata for my future SPS fore reef tank), but I own Pteogorgia anceps, a lagoon/seagrass species. That species likes as much light as it can get, I rarely feed it, but it still grows fairly well (note that it lives in a very different part of the ocean, so that doesn't apply to you). At night it does retract its polyps too. I've found it easy to keep; I'd imagine A. elizabethae will be easy to keep in an SPS tank, especially if you give it mostly blue or actinic light. And I would definitely keep feeding it.

Good luck! I'd be curious to hear how your gorgonian is dong.

 

[Mary Carmen]

Random thoughts:

First, this is a soft coral not an SPS. (no worries at all )

Second, Pseudopterogorgia was originally identified as a species of nonphotosynthetic Pacific gorgonian AND photosynthetic Atlantic gorgonian. Surprise surprise, in the past decade they did genome sequencing and found the Pacific and Atlantic "branches" were completely different species. The photosynthetic Atlantic species are now Antillogorgia elisabethate.

Third, how do you know it's A. elisabethae? Not saying you're wrong, just curious. BECAUSE:

A. elisabethae is a deep-ish water species - 25-60meters (75-180 feet) in depth (www.mesophotic.org/system/publications/pdfs/000/000/191/.../Kinzie-1973a.pdf), so it theoretically should not like a whole bunch of light, and would theoretically be best with deep water SPS like acros, leptos, favites/favias, etc. HOWEVER a very similar species, A. bipinnata, lives in shallower water and would be good in the average SPS tank. This is because the genus Antillogorgia generally lives on reef slopes, with acroporas and the like (no montis, poccis, birdsnests, etc. in the Atlantic). According to Nova U in Florida, the difference is that "[elisabehtae is] similar to Antillogorgia bipinnata but with pinnules thicker, more widely spaced, and not regularly distributed". Based on your pictures, I guess it is elisabethae.

Finally, I own neither species (but am thinking of bipinnata for my future SPS fore reef tank), but I own Pteogorgia anceps, a lagoon/seagrass species. That species likes as much light as it can get, I rarely feed it, but it still grows fairly well (note that it lives in a very different part of the ocean, so that doesn't apply to you). At night it does retract its polyps too. I've found it easy to keep; I'd imagine A. elizabethae will be easy to keep in an SPS tank, especially if you give it mostly blue or actinic light. And I would definitely keep feeding it.

Good luck! I'd be curious to hear how your gorgonian is dong.

Very interesting information. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I couldn’t find much about this coral.
Here is some background info about the coral in these pictures. I bought it at Petco. They usually place orders of assorted corals because they like to offer variety. In the tag, it said Purple Sea Whip gorgonian. I asked if they knew whether it was photosynthetic or not. The guy went to ask another employee and came back saying I was in luck. The coral was photosynthetic. I got excited and brought it home. Once the coral was happy in the tank, I started the research and could not find much by the name so I looked at pictures until I found one that looked like it. This morning when I fed the other corals, I gave it some Reef Roids and I saw that the polyps extended more than before. I assumed it liked marine plankton.
I don’t really know the name, but so far is a fun easy coral... in my tank. It adds color too.
Here is another picture I just took. Almost all polyps are in. The coral looks smooth.

 

[Mark Novack]

Nice gorgonia. Purple is my favorite color. My Ventalina is trying to turn purple but under day lighting is mostly gray with beige polyps.

 

[Gareth elliott]

Yes purple sea whip describes a lit of gorgs not a useful description [emoji23]

My purple sea whip lol

 

[Whisperer]

It looks like what KP aquatics as Purple Plume Gorgonian. Here is what was said about it...

Muriceopsis flavida, also called Rough Sea Plume or Purple Brush Gorgonian. This is a rather common, shallow water gorgonian found throughout the tropical Western Atlantic. Like most shallow water gorgonia, it is photosynthetic, so it will do best in a well-lit tank. It is an active planktonic feeder and should be fed some sort of micro food on a regular basis.

 

[Mary Carmen]

Hi,
What a beautiful coral Gareth!
I an hoping that you are right Whisperer.
Thank you all. I will keep you posted.

 

[TexasReefer82]

I love gorgonians! I have a tank dedicated solely to Caribbean corals and it has many Gorgs.

The specimen shown by Mary Carmen is most likely muriceopsis flavida. This species can be recognized by the round cross section of the branches and the even distribution of polyps on all sides of the branches. Also the branches come off of the main trunk in any direct/on any side.

The specimen shown by Gareth Elliot is most likely a pseudopterogorgia (either elisabethae or bipinnata). This can be recognized by the slightly flattened branches and how the polyps are only present on the narrow edges of the branches, not all the way around the cross section. Also, these species are planar, meaning the branches come off the main trunk all in the same plane opposite each other - like a feather.

All of these species are photosynthetic. That the polyps were/are white is possibly some slight bleaching from stress. They'll most likely turn brown soon.

For best results you should use some underwater epoxy or crazy glue and attach the base of the gorg to a rock big/heavy enough to support it sticking upright straight into the water column without having any branches leaning or rubbing against glass or other rocks - just like it would be in the wild.

 

[TexasReefer82]

Here's a good article:
https://www.advancedaquarist.com/2004/3/inverts

 

[Mary Carmen]

I think you are right TexasReefer. The picture looks like mine, but the polyps are darker. I will let you know if mine turn darker.
Thank you for the read. It is very interesting.