Blue berry gorgonian care

[gorgoniansfever]

Thank you @gorgoniansfever for sharing this and @Elisabeth GER for writing it! I had no idea about this flow preference. That said, I have laminar flow areas of my tank within a generally turbulent flow design. So, turbulent flow aquarists do not necessarily need to exclude gorgonians from their stocking list on this basis; they just need to accomodate them.
Thank you for the insight!

You are very sharp-witted and have always given me so much valuable advice. I am truly happy to receive your any replies!

 

[gorgoniansfever]

The following link is to a series of articles recommended by an experienced French reefkeeper. They cover the fundamental knowledge of Octocorallia—of which gorgonians are a member. These four articles are truly comprehensive(1: Classification, anatomy – 2: Nutrition, reproduction – 3: Ecology – 4: Maintenance)

Octocoralliaires 3 - Écologie : biotopes, agressions, maladies - Reeflexions

Octocoralliaires, biotope, interactions, agressions environnementales, prédateurs, maladies et réactions de protection.

reeflexion.fr

 

[Elisabeth GER]

The following link is to a series of articles recommended by an experienced French reefkeeper. They cover the fundamental knowledge of Octocorallia—of which gorgonians are a member. These four articles are truly comprehensive(1: Classification, anatomy – 2: Nutrition, reproduction – 3: Ecology – 4: Maintenance)

Octocoralliaires 3 - Écologie : biotopes, agressions, maladies - Reeflexions

Octocoralliaires, biotope, interactions, agressions environnementales, prédateurs, maladies et réactions de protection.

reeflexion.fr

Thank you very much—that's a great resource; I'll make a note of it!

 

[gorgoniansfever]

There is a Taiwan reefkeeper's blueberry gorgonian released eggs, he actually just recently bought it and brought it home, his photo is very precious:

 

[gorgoniansfever]

I have been keeping this Blueberry Gorgonian for over 8 months now. However, its condition has noticeably declined over the past two months.

The daily polyp extension time—both on the main colony and around the base—has significantly shortened by 4 to 6 hours. Additionally, the polyp tentacles appear shorter than usual. I have also noticed some tissue/fiber loss around the base, though fortunately, no polyps have been completely lost yet.
Below photo is at 11, July 2026:

During this time, I tried increasing the flow and replacing the phosphate-absorbing media. This only brought minor improvements, such as slightly longer tentacle extension. I recently sent out an ICP test as well.
Tank water some parameters(in ICP TEST):
temperature : 23-24°C
nitrate : 0.8 ppm
phosphate: 0.017 ppm
Details ICP result in attached PDF file

Below movie shows blueberry gorganian updated status :

 

[Euphylliaphyle]

It looks like it has put on a lot of growth - congratulations on that! I haven't looked yet at the ICP. I'm not sure I could evaluate it properly because I know very little about this species. I think you are right to increase the flow, but may need even more. The branches are barely moving in the video. I'd increase flow again and if you don’t already, turn flow off for feeding to make sure every polyp gets fed. Good luck!

 

[gorgoniansfever]

It looks like it has put on a lot of growth - congratulations on that! I haven't looked yet at the ICP. I'm not sure I could evaluate it properly because I know very little about this species. I think you are right to increase the flow, but may need even more. The branches are barely moving in the video. I'd increase flow again and if you don’t already, turn flow off for feeding to make sure every polyp gets fed. Good luck!

Thank you so much for your good advice ! I will try more flow.