blueberry gorgonian advice

[sixty_reefer]

Broadcast feeding is all I do, aside from mulms produced when zeostones are churned hourly. Each feeding consist of a teaspoon worth of freeze dried planktons. So that's quite a sizable amount of food. They do well and encrust and grow.

But they are easily smothered by collected detritus. So really strong and multi directional flow is important to keep them clean.

Have you been able to keep one of this alive? :)

 

[J1a]

Have you been able to keep one of this alive? :)

For about 9 months. Seen growth and encrusting. But end up smothered by some algae growth.

That's why I suspect the flow is insufficient.

 

[sixty_reefer]

For about 9 months. Seen growth and encrusting. But end up smothered by some algae growth.

That's why I suspect the flow is insufficient.

That’s awesome, I agree algae is one of the worst nightmare, one day i’ll go full NPS and remove the light issue from the system.

 

[J1a]

That’s awesome, I agree algae is one of the worst nightmare, one day i’ll go full NPS and remove the light issue from the system.

Especially when blasting at insane PARs. Then again. Perhaps the gorgonian can shed the outer skins, but I didn't wait to find out.

 

[las]

Any phyto should work, but would suggest localized feeding if not using live phyto. They also do need some other meaty foods, from my experience or it just "maintains" them. Mine did not really start shooting out new growth, until baby brine and some freeze dried meaty foods were supplied regularly.

sorry but I don’t quite understand the localized feeding process. If you put a container over them, and inject the phyto/baby brine mix in, won’t it just drop to the bottom? How does it syntax in suspension and swirl around to feed the gorg?

 

[las]

if The polyps start to get longer and stringy, is this a sign of too much water flow?

if you look at the bottom right polyps they are stringy and longer.

 

[las]

This video shows it better

 

[las]

Have you been able to keep one of this alive? :)

Hopefully this is better

 

[drukkosz]

@J1a where do you buy your plankton? can you use dried phyto and mix it with water? I am getting one this saturday and would like to be prepared.

 

[J1a]

@J1a where do you buy your plankton? can you use dried phyto and mix it with water? I am getting one this saturday and would like to be prepared.

I got it from taobao, but you also find some freeze dried algae from proviron.com

Hydrating with water before feeding is ideal. For me, I just dump the powder into the aquarium directly.

 

[Gogol_frag]

I got it from taobao, but you also find some freeze dried algae from proviron.com

Hydrating with water before feeding is ideal. For me, I just dump the powder into the aquarium directly.

Resurrecting an old thread, since I have jumped the gun, on these beauts. They arrive tomorrow.

I feed my tank daily 8 cups (4 cups around sunrise, 4 cups late in the night, both of during lights-off). Each cup consists of the following:
1. A smidgen of a powdered feed called Coral Frenzy.
2. 0.5 ml of Brightwell Coral Amino.
3. About 1,000+ live baby brine shrimp.
4. Water + cysts from the brine shrimp tank.
5. 12.5 ml of live Tetraselmis.

My reef's parameters are:
1. Age: 4+ yrs
2. Total system volume: 200 Gallons.
3. Flow: Constant Laminar flow on top. Bi-directional stronger flow every 3 hours, for 30 mins.
4. Light - 1 × 6' Actinic ReefBrite XHO for 9 hours.
5. Salinity 35ppt, range (34.5 -35.5)
6. Ph: 8.2, range (8.0 -8.2)
7. Nitrates: Undetectable
8. Phosphates: 0.5-0.25
9. Ca: 430-480
10. Alk: 9-14 (it's a little high, but I don't know of a way to reduce it)
11. Mg: 1350+
12. Trace elements: introduced during water changes via salt.

Wish me luck. Will post pictures.