What makes goniapora so hard to care for?

[GHOSTLY]

Like the title says.

 

[mdb_talon]

I would say they are not nearly as hard as they used to be. 20 years ago i had almost no luck. After several months they would die. That was also the experience of many(and maybe most) in the hobby. Now i have no issue caring for them at all.

Why it is easier now i can only guess. I believe it is mostly related to feeding(either direct, broadcast, or a "dirty tank"). My goniopora are one of the few corals i can actually notice a difference based on whether i dosing amino acids or not. They just do much better for me that way.

 

[Doctorgori]

Not an answer but in days past death was a certainty. Things have improved A LOT since then.....I’ve purchased ike 6 Goni/Alve’s; no losses ...
If I place them and they extend, I leave em be. If they don’t I might move em a couple times..
I won’t argue with anyone but mine are in medium-low flow and “lower” par, definitely under 100 I’d wager

 

[GHOSTLY]

Ok. What would you say is a good care level? Begiiner? Expert

 

[Doctorgori]

I would say they are not nearly as hard as they used to be. 20 years ago i had almost no luck. After several months they would die. That was also the experience of many(and maybe most) in the hobby. Now i have no issue caring for them at all.

Why it is easier now i can only guess. I believe it is mostly related to feeding(either direct, broadcast, or a "dirty tank"). My goniopora are one of the few corals i can actually notice a difference based on whether i dosing amino acids or not. They just do much better for me that way.

Thanks, forgot to mention that I placed all mine next to my seahorse feeding dish in hopes they clean up all the floating mysis pieces

 

[GHOSTLY]

Ah. What should my nitrate ve for them

 

[Waynerock]

I think the advance is aminos has helped a whole bunch. It’s been speculated that they absorb nutrients through there tissue more than capture prey. Reef builders did a piece on it a little bit ago. Back In 2002 I struggled to keep this one alive. By the sheer will of god it got to be the size of a softball where many others I had died. Today I have 5 Goni’s (maybe 2 Bernard’s) and 3 alve’s all over 1.5 years 2 for 5 years. I believe dosing amino’s like AB+ has made that possible. Especially with my nutrients always being super low.

 

[GHOSTLY]

Would acro power work for aminos?

 

[Waynerock]

Would acro power work for aminos?

Oh yea. Acropower, Fuel, Red Sea AB+, Brightwell has Amino power. Many options out there. Just start slow, they will fuel algae growth as well as coral growth, but don’t let that make you scared to use it. Start half recommend dose and monitor

 

[ReefBeta]

Was it hard to take care? I have been reefing for 6+ years but only tried one for the first time last year. It seems pretty easy to care for, similar to average LPS. It's not picky on flow or light. But I only have two so far. I'm kinda surprised to see the notion of it being difficult. Am I out of the loop?

 

[GHOSTLY]

Well my goni is going to be happy, thanks!

 

[GCL]

Gonis are my favorite but they can be unpredictable in my experience. Some seem easy while I’ve had others slowly melt away. I think sticking to aquaculture frags should makes things easier.

 

[GHOSTLY]

Gonis are my favorite but they can be unpredictable in my experience. Some seem easy while I’ve had others slowly melt away. I think sticking to aquaculture frags should makes things easier.

Beautiful. Can they touch?

 

[rhostam]

Also check out Tidal Gardens video on them. Than makes a guess based on his experience. My local LFS said the same thing when I asked them about their opinion on the subject. Australian origin verse Indonesian origin seem to fair better. Then of course aquacultured and maricultured versus wild caught.

 

[BradB]

There are no "hard to care for" Goniopora. The vast majority of the wild ones are impossible to care for in a home aquarium. It might be their diet or something chemical, but people have been speculating for 30 years and still don't know. They slowly die from the bottom up.

A small number of them survived and thrived in home aquariums and have been widely propagated. They are easy to care for.

 

[jmichaelh7]

Gonis are my favorite but they can be unpredictable in my experience. Some seem easy while I’ve had others slowly melt away. I think sticking to aquaculture frags should makes things easier.

That red one!

 

[Timfish]

One problem and a likely cause of a lot of the conflicting experiences is there's quite a few different species. If J. E. N. Veron's works are refferenced some species are found only in specific habitats (IMO indicating poor adaptablility to change) and others are found in a wide range of environmental conditions (IMO indicating adaptability). Your best chances of success will be to get a maricultured or aquacultured colony from a reputable source and do your best to duplicate it's environment.

 

[Waynerock]

Was it hard to take care? I have been reefing for 6+ years but only tried one for the first time last year. It seems pretty easy to care for, similar to average LPS. It's not picky on flow or light. But I only have two so far. I'm kinda surprised to see the notion of it being difficult. Am I out of the loop?

Dina a purple or lavender colored one to start with they seem to be the most hardy, reds next like the ORA ones they seem to be more photosynthetic than the others and the lighting takes care of those guys

 

[GCL]

Beautiful. Can they touch?

The red one actually reaches out towards the green one and causes it to retract. But it hasn’t done any damage yet. I did have some others near the red one and they did get stung by it

 

[GHOSTLY]

Hmm. Well I got a goni frag its slightly open right now