Gorgonian Question
 

I just bought a yellow Gorgonian 4/5 days ago and haven't noticed it's polyps yet. Should I be concerned? I've never had a gorgonian before so I don't know how long they take to acclimate. I've made sure I add phytoplankton every night just in case the polyps come out at night.

I personally have never had luck with a gorgonia before.

Anyway

[welcome]

I would say yes, the polyps should come out if they are happy. Ensure they are not in high current, low to random moderate current is what I have noticed worked well. These guys are as hard to keep as anemones. Is your tank new? They like good water, would check water parameters.

I agree with fantastic. I'm getting ready to move mine...I upped my flow quite a bit, and when I did, I don't see the polyps as much. Before I added the flow...I had PE all the time, from the moment I put in the tank

The Gorgonian is in an area that doesn't get as much flow as the rest of the tank. It's not so low as to not have any water movement, and fast enough that the branches [U]slightly[/U] move. It is also in the area of least light. Tank is 2 1/2 years old. Salinity 1.024, Temp 81 Deg,
Water changes every 2 weeks, Calcium 420 ppm, Alkalinity 10 pKH, PH 8.2. Corals include Acropora, Frogspawn, Xenia, Sinularia, Blue encrusting Monipora and more.
How long should I wait to see If I get polyp extention, and what methods can I try to help?

I got one with my rock order and it has been doing great. I put in a little Kent Micro Vert and it has been growing. If it is near or touches anything it closes... Look at it at night after the lights have been out for awhile and you should see polups then...

Toxik, your position and tank specs are great. like perfect. I would say your speciman is not healthy. Mine extends only when the light is on (MHs) and I have mine near the bottom of my tank. It could be in shock as the water change might be drastic from the LFS. Did you see it fully extended at LFS? Mine has a Maroon clown that trys to host in it, it used to close up, now it's just used to the clown. Perhaps you have it to close to a bubble coral or any other coral with sweepers? It definetly does not like shade, it likes light for sure. Can you send a picture of it? My temp is lower, but 81 should be fine. Have you tried dosing iodine? It may help.

I didn't see the polyps extended at the LFS. They did tell me that it had recently been taken out of the ocean and had just received it. I might have been a bit rash in my descision in taking the coral. I already dose iodine for the Xenia. I'll try and take some pics.

Here is a couple of shots

I can't see the shots

How about now?

[IMG]http://reefcentral.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=188937&papass=&sort=1&thecat=500[/IMG]

[IMG]http://reefcentral.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=188934&papass=&sort=1&thecat=500[/IMG]

I have definitely noticed those kind to be more nocturnal. I like to add some coral vibrance after lights out to coax it into opening up.

what species Gorgonian?
 

It matters. Not all Gorgonians require the same care.
[img]http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/136043IMG_2585.JPG[/img]
In this case you have purchased the non-photosynthetic [I] Diodogorgia nodulifera[/I] - a challenging species to maintain in captivity. It will need frequent feeding to survive. Use frozen HUFA enriched mysids or [I]Artemia[/I] (brine shrimp).
Better survivability can be obtained by purchasing photosynthetic Gorgonians.
Do not dose Iodine (or anything else) if you don't test for it.
In addition to alkalinity and calcium, with Gorgonians (in general) you should concern yourself with Mg levels.

Feed it cyclopeeze or other plankton substitute( not phytoplankton)when the polyps are open.

A little off topic here but....is the Blueberry Gorgonia photosynthetic and does anyone have any luck keeping them alive?? Reefscience.com stated that they're hardy and if so what do you feed it?
Thanks.

I have the same species...and mine has PE all the time off and on, lights on or off...But they are always out pretty much.

I feed once a day oyster eggs and cyclopeeze...switch every other day...

I was told they really like marine snow...but haven't got any yet

Sorry Justin/TiV...but what's PE stands for? I'm a Noob here when it comes to acronyms...LOL.

[IMG]http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j139/MapleReef/FullShotGor.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j139/MapleReef/CloeUpBGor.jpg[/IMG]


Does anyone have any success with this Blueberry Gorgonia so far...long term??

Thanks in advance.

PE= polyp extension
more reefkeeping acronyms here:
[url]http://www.reefcentral.com/modules.php?s=&name=Encyclopedia&op=terms&eid=2&ltr=all[/url]

I don't know of anyone that has kept a "Blueberry Gorgonian" alive for an extended length of time.
Certain Gorgonians are easier to maintain than others. The ones seen in this thread so far are not easy to maintain.

I have the same species myself. i only get PE at night. i dose phyto every so often and that seems to make her happy.

One problem i have is that mine gets algea growth all the time. i'm contantly having to wipe her off.

The blueberry gorgonian is not photosynthetic. IME you will have trouble getting the diodogorgia nodulifera to eat mysids...the seam to be too big for the polyp generally. Cyclops and brine artemia seem to work ok though. In general like others have said try and get the photosynthetic ones which are usually are a grey, brown, purple (lots of carribean species), and brown. Not as pretty as non-photosynthetics but they'll live long term for you. Good luck
Aaron

Thanks for the input. And I was really looking forward to getting this particular Gorgonia and now that I know all the colorful ones are as good as hard to keep alive in captiivity then I have to leave them alone and not look at them at all...welll maybe a peek!!

This is sorta stil on topic...Whats the best way to keep the slime/hair algae off the yellow gorgonian? I know good water flow is important but you can't really put this critter in TOO MUCH flow, right?

You'd be surprised in how much flow they can handle. This may have various effects on feeding/prey capture rates though. Lots of gorgonians will shed there outer skin layer, though I've never seen diodogorgia nodulifera to do it. Not sure if this is the best advice but I've heard of some people physically rubbing (gently) it off. Other than that trying to keep it in a darker part of the tank is your only real option. But generally its not hair algae but probably diatom mats that can get kinda whispy looking if they get really built up.
Aaron

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8381361#post8381361 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by PauChi [/i]
[B]Sorry Justin/TiV...but what's PE stands for? I'm a Noob here when it comes to acronyms...LOL.

[IMG]http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j139/MapleReef/FullShotGor.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j139/MapleReef/CloeUpBGor.jpg[/IMG]


Does anyone have any success with this Blueberry Gorgonia so far...long term??

Thanks in advance. [/B][/QUOTE]
You mind if I ask where these pictures are from? I'm having trouble locating any decent blueberry gorgonian specimens and those look very healthy. Thanks
Aaron

Shoreliner11,

This is where the pics are from..

[url]http://www.aquacon.com/seafan.html[/url]

[url]http://www.seadwelling.com/v-web/gallery/MarineInvertebrate/blueberrygorgonia[/url]

Hope this helps...