Are photosynthetic sea fans beginner-friendly?

[Sink_or_Swim]

I have my eye on a "purple candelabra sea fan" from Tidal Gardens. It says it is photosynthetic - but does anyone know if this would be something easily kept for a beginner? Thanks!

 

[SlugSnorter]

I have my eye on a "purple candelabra sea fan" from Tidal Gardens. It says it is photosynthetic - but does anyone know if this would be something easily kept for a beginner? Thanks!

meh, i would wait until a tank is more developed and mature before going for them regardless, they are somewhat hardy but are still corals. fairly similar care to some lps corals, but like more feeding.

 

[Sink_or_Swim]

meh, i would wait until a tank is more developed and mature before going for them regardless, they are somewhat hardy but are still corals. fairly similar care to some lps corals, but like more feeding.

Ok thanks, that's what I was figuring but thought I'd ask. Planning on letting tank settle in for quite a while and successfully (fingers crossed) taking care of some easier corals before attempting anything else. The gorgonians just look really cool!

 

[Holy handgrenade]

I have a corky sea finger and angular sea whip in my tank. This is my first reef tank and its been set up almost 5 months. They are both alive and growing for me

 

[Sink_or_Swim]

I have a corky sea finger and angular sea whip in my tank. This is my first reef tank and its been set up almost 5 months. They are both alive and growing for me

Good to know! Seems like you can get some fairly inexpensive so I may add it to the list for after my tank is done cycling.

 

[davidcalgary29]

Go with Grube's gorgonian. Those things are nearly indestructible, and certainly a coral you can grow in a new tank.

 

[Trouble1375]

I have several NPS and Photosynthetic gorgonians in my 3 year old mixed reef. My fish are fed heavily, I dose phyto and zooplankton twice a week and Red Sea AB+ twice a week. The NPS are new (a week old) and finally opening up. My photosynthetic ones are growing like weeds.

 

[Sink_or_Swim]

Go with Grube's gorgonian. Those things are nearly indestructible, and certainly a coral you can grow in a new tank.

I might just have to try that one then! Thanks for the recommendation.

 

[Sink_or_Swim]

I have several NPS and Photosynthetic gorgonians in my 3 year old mixed reef. My fish are fed heavily, I dose phyto and zooplankton twice a week and Red Sea AB+ twice a week. The NPS are new (a week old) and finally opening up. My photosynthetic ones are growing like weeds.

What kind of placement do they like? I'm guessing for the photosynthetic, middle to top?

 

[adittam]

I just got an order with a purple candelabra gorgonian from https://www.live-plants.com/index.htm and it looks AMAZING. Check out my build thread for a quick picture from when I put it in the tank!

WAY better prices than the overpriced Tidal Gardens. You're welcome

 

[adittam]

What kind of placement do they like? I'm guessing for the photosynthetic, middle to top?

High flow.

 

[Trouble1375]

What kind of placement do they like? I'm guessing for the photosynthetic, middle to top?

I have them stationed almost directly in front of the wavemakers mid tank. The NPS ones are in higher flow also at the back of the tank under an overhang of rock

 

[Paul B]

Purple anything is not great for a beginner. Brown gorgonians are very easy. Purple, not so much,

They may be partly photosynthetic and live a year or so, but I am sure if it is purple, it needs to eat and in your tank, it has nothing to eat.

Just my opinion of course.

 

[Sink_or_Swim]

I just got an order with a purple candelabra gorgonian from https://www.live-plants.com/index.htm and it looks AMAZING. Check out my build thread for a quick picture from when I put it in the tank!

WAY better prices than the overpriced Tidal Gardens. You're welcome

I just checked out your build thread and... wow! I am totally jealous of your stand (VERY talented dad by the way!) The tank looks great, fish look great, and I like the aquascaping. You're right - that purple candelabra does look amazing! I'm convinced, I'm gonna need one, lol. I am not a fan over super bright colors - I like the more natural look and the purple is perfect with the color of my "fake live rock" (CaribSea LifeRock). Going to pick up some real live from from my LFS tomorrow if they have any pieces I like. Hopefully get some coraline algae going. Thank you so much for the website recommendation - I like looking at Tidal Gardens and then googling other places that may have the same things for less. Like to shop, haha.

 

[Sink_or_Swim]

I just got an order with a purple candelabra gorgonian from https://www.live-plants.com/index.htm and it looks AMAZING. Check out my build thread for a quick picture from when I put it in the tank!

WAY better prices than the overpriced Tidal Gardens. You're welcome

Do you dip these like corals, to avoid hitchhikers? Or would that not be suggested for them? Their website just says to put them in QT for a little while to check for hitchhikers, but doesn't mention how you'd go about removing unwanted hitchhikers... I'd keep anything beneficial to the tank, but don't want any nasty critters.

 

[Sink_or_Swim]

Purple anything is not great for a beginner. Brown gorgonians are very easy. Purple, not so much,

They may be partly photosynthetic and live a year or so, but I am sure if it is purple, it needs to eat and in your tank, it has nothing to eat.

Just my opinion of course.

That's interesting, had no idea color came into play! This is why I wanted to ask others' experience with them, and not just rely on the seller's description. FWIW, the website @adittam ordered from says this about the purple candelabra gorgonian:

"A beautiful photosynthetic gorgonian that features a deep purple color with cylindrical branches. This species of plexaura flexuosa features thicker branches than the purple bottle brush and is a hardy specimen once acclimated. Gorgonians regularly shed tissue to remove buildup of sediment and algae from forming on their skeleton. We offer single specimens, mounted on a reef plug. The size is approx 5-8" tall."

 

[adittam]

Do you dip these like corals, to avoid hitchhikers? Or would that not be suggested for them? Their website just says to put them in QT for a little while to check for hitchhikers, but doesn't mention how you'd go about removing unwanted hitchhikers... I'd keep anything beneficial to the tank, but don't want any nasty critters.

I had the same question, and couldn’t find a definitive answer, so I dipped mine in Seachem reef dip for 15 minutes and looked it over closely for any hitchhikers before putting it in my tank. I got one for my friend also, and he used CoralRx to dip his. They’re both looking good right now, two days later, so I don’t think it did them any harm.

 

[Trouble1375]

I have them stationed almost directly in front of the wavemakers mid tank. The NPS ones are in higher flow also at the back of the tank under an overhang of rock

I was trying to take current pictures of everything last weekend. Here are the gorgonians I have. The 3 on the frag rack are the NPS ones and I've only had them for about a week so I put them there to monitor them before I decide on final placements. The photosynthetic ones have all been in the tank for at least a year and started out as sticks.

 

[Sink_or_Swim]

I had the same question, and couldn’t find a definitive answer, so I dipped mine in Seachem reef dip for 15 minutes and looked it over closely for any hitchhikers before putting it in my tank. I got one for my friend also, and he used CoralRx to dip his. They’re both looking good right now, two days later, so I don’t think it did them any harm.

Awesome, good to know. I have been debating getting Seachem reef dip vs CoralRx. I'd like to have one that will really blast stuff off that hardier corals can tolerate (probably CoralRx), and another that is "gentler" (the Seachem maybe?) Not sure that any dip is technically "gentle", but whatever will be less detrimental to corals while still making pests flee for their lives sounds good to me, lol.

 

[Sink_or_Swim]

I was trying to take current pictures of everything last weekend. Here are the gorgonians I have. The 3 on the frag rack are the NPS ones and I've only had them for about a week so I put them there to monitor them before I decide on final placements. The photosynthetic ones have all been in the tank for at least a year and started out as sticks.

Those look so cool! Is that an orchid dotty in your first pic btw? I want one so bad. Questions about which gorgonians you have: 1st and 2nd pic, on right (the lighter pinkish one)? 4th and 5th pics? Those are my favorites.