Gorgonian help?

[C&C]

I am thinking about purchasing a yellow gorgonian from my LPS, it looks pretty healthy, no external damage or obvious signs of poor handling. It has extended its polyps when phyto plankton was added to the tank but has never left them out, is this normal?

can anybody give me a better idea as to what is involved in caring for this creature in regards to lighting, feeding, water movement? I am currently using sea Chem reef plus as an additive, is this enough to sustain it or do I need to look at somthing else?

Thanks [img]smile.gif[/img]

C&C

[Troy F]

If it's not photosynthetic you'll have a difficult time keeping it fed, ie. you'll be adding significant amounts of phyto to the tank to feed it. Water movement and feeding are paramount with these beauties.

[SuperFudge]

Hi C&C,

Troy is right,they are tough to keep at best.
Thinner branching types of bright color,are usually the sign of the non-photosynthic(sp?) species.
They usually decline slowly,unless its high food demands are met,and usually do so despite our best efforts with feeding.

[sumpfinfishe]

I have tried to keep this variety both in brilliant red and also the yellow branch colors when I first started out in reefing. After diving in Fiji a few years later I had realized why my attemps with these pieces failed. The branches that I saw were at around 25-30 feet in depth. Most of which where growing suspended upspside down or sideways on the reef slope. The water was also extremly nutrient rich, so as Marc and Troy mentioned above I would not try these at all-instead go with a brown branching type of gorgonian, you will have more success. Happy Reefing, Rich

[ 29 September 2002, 10:46: Message edited by: sumpfinfishe ]