Gorgonians dying and I need help

[ryan_paskadi]

Hi guys and girls,

I received some awesome yellow gorgonians along with some other stuff from my job. They are slowly dying and sluffing away. I am using T5 lighting and keeping up with my water changes, but do not know what else I can do to save them.

Also the cats paw, and fuzzy mushroom I got from the last meeting are slowly deteriorating as well.

Please Help....

[killingseed]

are you feeding your Gorgonians ? they do better when fed by hand a couple times a week. i seem to ge better growth when i feed it more and more polyps come out.

cats paw? someone had one? gpt me on that one. did you drip them before adding?

[SOULEMAN]

On the sps that you got from us i would move him up to the top in your tank since you have about the same light as Sam at his shop and it was only like 12" from the lights. Also it needs to be in good flow, move it to some higher area with a lot of flow.If you have it all the way at the top just move it too flow, if that fails to help try moving it down to half way in the flow. I hope this helps.
On the Gorgonians I have no idea as i don't even know what they are. Sorry I am an SPS and CLAM nut so that is all I have except for the zoas, but on my new tank i am not even gonna move the zoas over to that tank.

[killingseed]

well that Gorgonians is like sps in the amount of flow it likes flow lots of it. light not as much as an sps. low and flow.

[SOULEMAN]

also your lights might be too much for the fuzzy shroom, you might want to kind of shade him under a rock on the bottom to get him used to the lighting. I know i have some shrooms in my tank and they had to adjust to the lights before coming back out.

[ryan_paskadi]

Thanks for all the help. Much appreciated.

What do you feed your gorgonians?

[killingseed]

mix of differnt things depands on what i have. for the most part photoplankon is the main stuff i use. then i might mix in some brine shrimp eggs or frozon brine shrimp, or i grow brine shrimp from time to time.
mix in a cup with tank water and turkey blast for direct feeding
2 or 3 times a week maybe more. feed when the polyps out

[zed915]

I know the leather and fuzzy mushroom i received from chuey are doing very well. I also put them at the bottom of my tank. Where there's not to much light.

[ryan_paskadi]

Thanks zed,

The leather I got from chuey looks good but the fuzzy mushroom....not so much....I will put it on the bottom.

[jmait769]

Ryan – What type of gorgonian is it? I know you said yellow but is it photosynthetic or non-photosynthetic? I have one that is photosynthetic and really does not require specific feeding. A non-photosynthetic is dependent on regular and frequent feedings of micro-plankton, brine shrimp, or foods designed for filter feeding invertebrates like Cyclop-eeze or Kent Marine Micro-Vert and are usually harder to keep. I use both types of food for my tank and have had good results. I got the Cyclop-eeze at the Coral Reef and the Kent’s at PetCo. Also, flow is important which usually is a medium flow. Mine sways gently all the time. I had a purple with white polyps that came with my TBS rock and the branches where very stiff. Like an idiot I put it near the MJ and it did not last long. It would also only extend its polyps at night.

Here are some resent pics of mine:

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n172/jmait769/gorgonian02.jpg

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n172/jmait769/gorgonian03.jpg

HTH

Jay

[ryan_paskadi]

not sure what kind it is....it has long thin hard yellow stalks with small white polyps that come out during the day and night. Some of it seems to be doing ok while other parts are dying quickly. I will try some of your feeding suggustions and see how it goes. Thanks for the help.

I also got a sea pansy, upside down jellyfish, and a misc. hydroid colony.

The jelly fish went missing...the sea pansy seems to be doing all right, and my tank is eating the hydriod colony.

If you guys know anything about sea pansy's im all ears.

[ryan_paskadi]

tank=tang

[psuedopimp]

the fuzzy shroom was under 2x250W metal halide before the meeting if that helps anyone

[mitchellmoto]

Deep water yellow gorgonian covered in feathery white polyps when feeding, non photosynthetic variety but requires heavy filter feeding and strong water flow.

I'd put it in the shade, since light is useless. You need to target feed it and put it in high flow area.
I also read you should cut the dead area off.
And also that they usually polyp out at night. So if it isn't polyped out during the day I wouldn't worry and I would do the target feeding at night whaen the polyps are extended.

The Sea pansy is a type of sea pen and from what I remember reading usually die in an aquarium.

Please I'm no expert so I could be wrong and you should research this things before you purchase them.
Sorry didn't mean to preach. We have all at some point bought something we didn't know about.

Good luck
Later

[ryan_paskadi]

Thanks for the info.....I did not buy them....I work in the biology department at NMSU and they were bought for a zoology lab. I inherited them becuase they would have been left to die.

[Salty Sam]

Well said mitchell......we are all guilty of it, but how much less expensive and less mortality would we have if we research the animals we choose to keep.

[mitchellmoto]

Hell I'd be alot richer if I had done that. Ecspecialy when I first got into the hobby. Even trying to cycle a tank with 7 damsels in a 55. Shame on me but thats what happens when you take the advice from the wrong pet stores!!!
Even now sometimes we get the urge but I really try to hold back now.

[Salty Sam]

Dont tell me that is your bike in the avatar....cause I am going to be real jealous.

[mitchellmoto]

Yes that is my new toy. I just traded my 62 beetle for it.
It is a CJ750, imported from China. It's a PLA bike (Peoples liberation Army). Basically a China's military bike. It is an absolute blast to ride around. Not fast just slow and cool. Top speed for now is only 50mph. Rides 3 people and has a trunk. YEA
They are very affordable, 3800 to 6000 imported to the US. Plus some port fees and such. If you want any more info or are interested in one PM me I'll send you more info.Here is a pic or two. Sorry all this isn't Reef related.



http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/136255re4.JPG

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/136255re3.JPG

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/136255re2.JPG

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/136255re1.JPG

[strayvoltage]

mitchellmoto, that bike is way cool. Looks like it would be fun to just run around on. Being cool on that you don't need fast.

[killingseed]

sweet ! thats about all i can say. na, i can say "i want a ride in it and look cool!"

[mitchellmoto]

Thanks guys it is fun. Maybe next meeting I'll ride it down so you guys can check it out. This is a depending on when and where the meeting it is. These bikes are built for endurance and extended use but not for speed so it would take me a while to get there. I'm buying a new rear diff. here soon and will alow me to reach speeds of 70 to 80 mph so if I get it in time I'll surely ride it to the meeting. Most parts have to be shipped from China but man are they cheap. Still don't know how much is shipping yet that could determine if the parts are still cheap or not. They have made over a million of these bikes so lots of part very cheap just there are very few imported to the US. So I should never run into anyone on the same bike as me unless I go to a CJ750 meeting.

Anyways Later Guys

[Salty Sam]

That is the Bomb!

[jmait769]

That is awesome!!

I know that has got to be fun to ride around on/in!! Well, there goes the tank money…….

Jay

[ryan_paskadi]

I want one....