Jaws
03-21-2007, 06:35 AM
I was at Ocean Aquatics the other day and mentioned to Wendell that I acquired a blueberry gorgonian recently but wasn't sure what the best method of feeding was. I've tried phytoplankton and freeze dried cyclopeeze but haven't really noticed any effects. Wendell showed me this new product from Fauna Marin that's meant to feed sea fans. Unless you know German, its going to be pretty hard to read the bottle. He told me to mix 1/4 teaspoon of the powder in a cup of tank water then turn off the return pump so the skimmer doesn't remove any of the powder after you add it to the tank. I also turned off two vortechs to decrease the flow in the tank but left two other vortechs on that were able to provide the best, consistant gentle flow through the gorgonian. I poured the cup of mixed water into one of the operating vortechs at the opposite end of the tank to the gorgonian to distribute it amongst the tank. I leave the tank this way for 10 to 15 minutes to ensure it has time to feed.
I've added the mixture about four times since I bought the stuff; once in the morning with just actinics, once in the middle of the day with the actinics and MH's on, and twice in the evening. The evening seems to be the best time to feed so far. I tried it once with just actinics and once with actinics on and about 15 minutes after the MH directly above the gorgonian turned off. Both times I noticed the blueberry polyps opening and closing. There wasn't a dramatic change in the filtering but it was definitely noticeable when paying extremely close attention. I definitely noticed more of an effect when I fed about 15 minutes after the MH directly above the gorgonian turned off too. There was one instance where I saw what looked like a single arm/extension of a single polyp catch something in the water column and immediately force it into the center of the polyp, meanwhile, no other extensions moved. After about two hours later with just actinics on now, I noticed that every polyp is out in full and the gorgonian looks quite healthy. It seems to have its polyps out throughout most of the day anyways and already appeared to be quite healthy but there always seemed to be a section or portion that is closed up for whatever reason.
I haven't had it long enough to see if the polyps are out more in the evening with just the actinics on but I'm going to continue to monitor the gorgonian throughout the day to see if there is a particular time of day that the polyps seem to be out more. I'll try to feed around that time. So far it's pretty early to tell if this product is truly working but it definitely seems to be responding to the powder. The health of the gorgonian hasn't decreased by any means so only time and/ growth will tell. If the food works its a very reasonable investment considering how unbelievably beautiful these sea fans are when healthy. I will update as time goes on. Thanks.
I've added the mixture about four times since I bought the stuff; once in the morning with just actinics, once in the middle of the day with the actinics and MH's on, and twice in the evening. The evening seems to be the best time to feed so far. I tried it once with just actinics and once with actinics on and about 15 minutes after the MH directly above the gorgonian turned off. Both times I noticed the blueberry polyps opening and closing. There wasn't a dramatic change in the filtering but it was definitely noticeable when paying extremely close attention. I definitely noticed more of an effect when I fed about 15 minutes after the MH directly above the gorgonian turned off too. There was one instance where I saw what looked like a single arm/extension of a single polyp catch something in the water column and immediately force it into the center of the polyp, meanwhile, no other extensions moved. After about two hours later with just actinics on now, I noticed that every polyp is out in full and the gorgonian looks quite healthy. It seems to have its polyps out throughout most of the day anyways and already appeared to be quite healthy but there always seemed to be a section or portion that is closed up for whatever reason.
I haven't had it long enough to see if the polyps are out more in the evening with just the actinics on but I'm going to continue to monitor the gorgonian throughout the day to see if there is a particular time of day that the polyps seem to be out more. I'll try to feed around that time. So far it's pretty early to tell if this product is truly working but it definitely seems to be responding to the powder. The health of the gorgonian hasn't decreased by any means so only time and/ growth will tell. If the food works its a very reasonable investment considering how unbelievably beautiful these sea fans are when healthy. I will update as time goes on. Thanks.