Dr. Ron, Gorgonian? coral ID please

[albinooscar]

Could you tell me what kind of Gorgonian this is?
It's fairly bendable and has a leathery texture to it with pretty big polyps.

Some please tell me what it is!!
http://www.digitalpose.com/mbr/1/29402/p/603932_6417443229062080143_vl.jpg


Also, can I super glue it to a rock to keep it from falling over?
http://www.digitalpose.com/mbr/1/29402/p/603943_7327635153257225738_vl.jpg

Thanks,
Ron

[Rock Anemone]

That's a Tan Sea Rod (Eunicia) however I'm not to positive if that Scientific Name is correct.

They are Photosynthetic Gorgonians. To attach it, you can rubbleband it to a rock and it will attach in time. A lot of people like to drill holes in the rock and place some super glue in the hole and then place the Gorgonian in (however first they take about an inch of the flesh off leaving the skeleton so it's easier to place in the hole).

Rock Anemone:D

[zenya]

Dr.Ron will be back tomorrow morning,however,I'll take a crack at it if I may. All I can say that it is a gorgonian,perhaps in genus Eunicea. I'm sure it is almost impossibile to id to the species level even for an expert just by looking at the picture.
I have very similar "looking" gorgonian in my tank,btw.

here's a pic for you to compare.

Edit: I didn't see that John already replied,took me awhile to dig that pic up from my files:D

[wooglin]

I love gorgs, they are some of my favorites.

[Rock Anemone]

Here's mine

http://www.nano-reef.com/johnsaquaria/MVC-831F.JPG

Rock Anemone

[albinooscar]

Ok

After reading the replies I found this

GARF.org (http://www.garf.org/36/gorgallabout/allaboutgorgs.html)

Mine looks a lot like the one in the third pic down. The gorg in the middle.
Also a lot like yours Rock Anemone's.

Thanx People!!
Ron

[rshimek]

Originally posted by albinooscar

Hi,

Mine looks a lot like the one in the third pic down. The gorg in the middle.

Well, it is a gorgonian and it contains zooxanthellae. It is possible that it is a species of Eunicea, however as Gene has pointed out, ([thanks]) one cannot really identify them by comparison with images. Although it contains zooxanthellae, it will need to be well fed to grow; gorgonians with large polyps will eat small particulate food and small zooplankton.

You may find some useful information about them in this article. (http://www.animalnetwork.com/fish2/aqfm/1999/jan/wb/default.asp)

Superglue will not work on the living tissue of the animal (and will kill the tissue in that area). If you strip some tissue from around the base, the central skeletal rod may be glued to a substrate. Alternatively, if the animal is well supported in rock work, and well fed, it will grow and attach itself to the rockwork.

Good luck! :D

[albinooscar]

Thanks for the infor Dr. Ron

Ron

[Forestal]

Dr. Ron or anyone else, how can you tell if a gorgonian has zooxanthellae? from what I have read, if the polyps are white, they do not contain zooxanthellae.
if they are colored, they may.
is this correct. thanks very much.

[rshimek]

Hi Dan,

If it has zoox the polyps will typically be tan, greyish, or grey-green; sort of standard zoox in a polyp color. If the polyps are bright white, yellow, red, orange, etc., they lack zooxanthellae.

[Forestal]

Great, thanks very much