Goniopora Pandoraensis

[Herpervet]

Hi,

Very impressive success with your goni's. I'm sure all of us would like to hear some of your methods.

I have one that looked like it was on it's way out then after being moved and heavy phytofeast feeding it did very well.

Now I havn't fed phyto in a couple of months (ran out and kept procrastinating the order) and it again looks like crap.

I started up the phyto again so it will be interesting to see if it makes a comeback.

BUT I really want to know YOUR methods including skimming etc.

[John Kelly]

Originally posted by Herpervet
BUT I really want to know YOUR methods including skimming etc.

A lot of what I have done and learned has been posted on Goniopora.org

About my filtration: I am currently doing a filtration experiment on my main goni tank (75g). The water flows into a sump through two good-sized media bags filled with carbon, then through a 5 micron cloth filter, then through a carbon pad, and then into the main sump chamber. In the main chamber is a large DIY venturi skimmer w/mag 7 pump and a phosphate reactor with 250ml of rowaphos. The water that comes out of the skimmer goes through two more carbon pads and dumps back into the main chamber. The water leaving the main chamber goes through a poly filter, then through another carbon pad, and then through another poly filter. After that, it returns to the tank. I've been running this since early May and change out the carbon/carbon filters every 2-3 weeks. I have to change out the carbon a little bit at a time because adding excessive carbon all at once seems to irritate the "Green" Goniopora for a few days afterward. Also, I intermittently run ozone and change 5 gallons of water a week. There was a 25w UV filter running, but I ran out of room for it and had to take it out for now.

The sump (29g) is made to be kind of like a big flow-through canister filter with a skimmer and a phosphate reactor in the middle of it. It is unlit, barebottom, and contains no macro-algae, but I do have some "cooked" live rock in it. It seems to be very effective at keeping the water "CLEAN" . After I installed it, several of my corals slightly bleached (lost zooxanthellae) from the change in the clarity of the water. Also, it must have shocked the system pretty good because two days afterwards a heavy bacterial bloom killed all 5 of my fish. So now there is no need to feed the tank, other than the corals, and no fish to pollute the water.

[John Kelly]

8 months. Still growing strong . The tissue on all three of the heads has grown quite a bit in length and width. The top head is becoming a lot more wide; like maybe it is going to form a new branch. That would be neat!

[Don Lino]

beautiful...

[nebraskareef]

Awesome success story!

[grisha]

i like how this thread follows one coral in progress , awesome job

[John Kelly]

Thanks everyone.

Originally posted by grisha
i like how this thread follows one coral in progress , awesome job

I thought this particular goniopora looked unique compared to the other commonly recognized goniopora that form more of a mound shape. In the photos, there is a purple one (G. tenuidens) in the background and a small green one (G. stokesi) on the right side.

[Doni]

As awlays, very nice goniopora keeping John!

[Herpervet]

Any updated pic's John?

What in your best estimation is the most important factor that will help goniopora and alveolapora capture the food. i.e. I have target fed cyclopeez and various other concoctions of oyster/clam puree etc and the polyps don't seem to be very efficient at capturing the stuff. Any more tips?

[John Kelly]

Hi Herpervet,

I've been meaning to update this thread with another pic. At the moment, I'm lucky to even have any corals and fish at all. Our city has been flattened by a huge ice storm over the past three days and we are one of a few scattered houses in a large area that didn't lose power (yet).

If the coral is not in the best health, then the tentacles may be really short, like nubs, and that can make it real difficult for the coral to hold food; the purple ones especially since they already have short tentacles. It will still get some food, but it is best to target as many mouths as possible. If the coral is in decent health and has tentacles, then placing it in an area of slower water flow or turning the pumps off while feeding will help it to hold food.

[Herpervet]

yeesh. I hope your luck holds with the power.

Thanks for the tip. The new corals I have do seem to be eating some of the otohime diet in the 200 micron size.(reed mariculture larval diet from japan) and I have the smallest gp diets on the way.

I'll try turning off the pumps while feeding.

cheers,

Pete

[John Kelly]

Here's the latest update. Picture was taken this morning. In 2 weeks, I will have had it for 1 year. Both Goniopora behind it are 1 1/2 years.

Sorry the glass is messy , I need to do some housekeeping. Also, the anemone is really going to have to go soon. I am constantly having to poke it with the target feeder to keep it off of the goni.

[John Kelly]

Here are some 1 year comparison photos:

Feb. 06 Retracted


Feb. 07 Retracted



Feb. 06 Extended


Feb. 07 Extended


We had a really bad ice storm here at the end of January and was without power for 1 1/2 days (no heat). I hastily moved all of my Goniopora to a different location and used that time to renovate the tank. The anemone has gone to a better home (not dead ) and the pandoraensis has been moved to a spot where it can now spread out more. The water flow is hitting it opposite from what it was before, but the lighting is about the same. It is still a little hesitant to come out and extend fully. You can see where it developed acrospheres on the tips of the tentacles from battling the anemone. The top branch is actually quite wide and back in October I posted that it looked like it was forming a new branch. It is. I have a photo somewhere, but just can't find it at the moment.

[Tu Ku]

awesome

[John Kelly]

13 months.....



The enlarged acrospheres it developed from being next to the anemone have returned to normal size.

[vijaym85]

Nice Job! Great inspiration and proof that if you start with a healty specimen and keep your params proper this coral is one which is not destined to die as previously thought. Now all you need to do is get an elegance from Jakarta and see if you can do the same thing!

[JokerGirl]

Beautiful John... absolutely gorgeous.

[LSD_Zeppelin]

All I can say is WOW! I read in a julian sprung book that most gonipora eventually die in captivity, but I guess you showed him

[John Kelly]

Thank you.

This species of Goniopora is much easier to keep than the common "green" species (stokesi, pendulus, and several others). It seems to require less food and is not quite as sensitive to strong light, but I do keep it at the bottom of the tank (75g) to avoid any problems that the light may cause (175w mh). Also, the corallites are pretty shallow, so it spreads faster than if they were deep. Actually, I have 6 or maybe 7 different species that I would consider to be fairly "easy" to keep.

Barring any unforeseen and uncontrollable obstacles, this thread may continue indefinitely .

[vijaym85]

My green Goni, is it healthy?

[John Kelly]

1 year 3 months.......

[Sparkss]

how easy are the red goni's to keep compared with the green or other ones ? (do the different colors help denote the species ? From your posts is seems like they do).

Thanks

[elegance coral]

Man, you should write a book. I would buy it.

[John Kelly]

Originally posted by Sparkss
how easy are the red goni's to keep compared with the green or other ones ? (do the different colors help denote the species ? From your posts is seems like they do).

Thanks

There are several species of green colored, several species of purple colored, and several species of red colored Goniopora that are common in the hobby. The species of the same color are nearly identical looking when compared to each other.

Here is a good general rule to follow when shopping by color:
- The two most common greens are both more difficult to keep than either the purples or the reds.
- The greens are more sensitive to higher lighting over time than the purples or the reds.
- The greens require more food than the purples or the reds.
- The greens are more susceptible to brown jelly infections than the purples or the reds.

- The two most common purples are easier to keep than the greens.
- The purples are more sensitive to their environment than the greens or the reds.
- The purples require a little less food than the greens, but more food than the reds.

- There are at least two red species that have purple mouths. One species has quite a bit larger polyps (corallites) than the other. I don't have experience with the larger, but the smaller is fairly easy to keep with regular feedings. From other people's experience, the larger polyped red/purple is also fairly easy to keep.
- There are two other common red species that have very very small polyps. These two species are nearly identical and are also fairly easy to keep with regular feedings.

- The purples and the reds are both more sensitive to water quality and sudden changes than the greens.

There are a lot more comparables to make, and different species to include, but this sums up the most popular Goniopora pretty good.

[John Kelly]

Originally posted by elegance coral
Man, you should write a book. I would buy it.

Thanks!!

Actually, I've been slowly working on one. I have about 16 chapters of material laid out, but organizing all of it into a coherent unity is like working a huge puzzle. All of the pieces are there, they just need to be put in order.