Goni's Less than Happy, Help?

rlamos1 · May 25, 2022

Hi Everybody, I have two goni frags that I purchased from UC in March of 2021. They looked great until 7 months later in October where they buttoned up. Familiar story, I know. Fast forward another 7 months to today and they are still somehow hanging on (although the fleshy area between polyps on one is looking quite thin last couple months).

PE is never more than .25". They currently sit in the substrate under partial shadow with low indirect flow. If I move them, tinker with flow or parameters they completely button up. Parameters and a general outline of my care below.

I've been waiting for them to die, but they keep clinging to life. Come on, 7 months with no to minimal PE? They do show a feeding response with that tiny bit of PE which is encouraging to see. Maybe they can turn the corner? Does anybody have any suggestions?

DT 90 gal with ~30 gal in chaeto refugium/sump space
Lights 2 x Kessil A360x's
Temp 78
SG 1.027
pH 7.8x night, 8.0x day
Alk 9.5
Ca 480
Mg 1425
NO3 16.6
PO4 0.12

Mixed reef LPS, SPS, softies all doing well except the goni's. I spot feed either Benepet or Reef Roids once/week. I broadcast 10 ml Red Sea AB+ aminos daily. I dose 10 ml of Sea Elements trace once per week. ESV B-ionic 2-part on a doser, 12 ml/dose 5x's per day. Tropic Marin Pro salt with Alk/Ca/Mg added to maintain the above levels; running ~3% changes per week on an AWC. Manually add Brightwell Mg as needed which is typically every few months.

Maybe TMI, but here is my light schedule as well. Moonlight schedule and grow light over chaeto fuge at night.

Time	Color	Intensity	Violet	Red
8:00	0	1
9:00	10	20	20	5
11:00	20	40	40	10
13:00	30	75	100	20
15:00	20	75	100	20
17:00	15	40	20	10
19:00	10	20	20	5
20:00	0	0

blaxsun · May 25, 2022

Maybe post a few images of the flowerpots in question.

Salty2021 · May 25, 2022

They are picky. I have two that not doing well. I need the secret..lol

rlamos1 · May 25, 2022

Here you go. It is much brighter IRL. My camera just won't pick it up, even shined a flash light to help. Also note the polyps are still stubby from a recent feeding, currently about 1/8". They will skinny up and extend to about 1/4" max.

vetteguy53081 · May 25, 2022

Mag and salinity quite elevated.
Salinity- you want 1.025
Mag 1300-1350
Goniopora corals are a photosynthetic coral so they derive some of their nutritional requirements from light. This is done through a symbiotic relationship with dinoflagellates called zooxanthellae that live in the flesh of the coral. The dinoflagellates are actually the photosynthetic organism and the Goniopora colony derives nutrients off of the byproducts of the dinoflagellates’ photosynthetic process. Zooxanthellae is usually brown in color and the coral tightly regulates the population living in its flesh. Too little light will cause the coral to turn brown in color.
I would not recommend blasting Goniopora with a lot of light. I don’t think there are a lot of advantages to doing so. If you start to see the coral starting to turn lighter and bleach out, it is likely the result of high lighting intensity. When in doubt, favor lower lighting intensities until it is clear that the coral is demanding more.
One mistake I think some reef keepers make is providing them too much flow. If you have a powerhead blowing right at Goniopora from short range, it may kill off some of the tissue at that point of contact and cause a chain reaction to the rest of the colony.
Goniopora appreciate low to medium flow, but preferably with some randomness to it. That way you will get that gentle waving motion which helps keep the coral clean and brings food past the colony. If you see the tentacles violently thrashing about, that is probably too much flow and it would benefit from being relocated to a more calm section of the tank.
Lack of food is a big issue with these coral and there are two types of food to provide Goniopora. The first is liquid amino acids. In short, they are simple organic compounds that play a major role in building proteins as well as other biological functions at the cellular level. Corals regularly take in available amino acids from the water column so it is easy to provide them with adequate quantities by broadcast feeding an amino acid solution.

rlamos1 · May 25, 2022

Thanks for the feedback so far.

Maybe I'll back the Mg and SG down; looking back in my log book when I first purchased them, these were around 1200's and 1.023-24. I've elevated Mg as a means to elevate Alk. Tropic Marin Pro Alk is 7.0 which is lower than my liking. The SG naturally rose over time probably due to all of the 2 part; I agree this is on the high side.

I do think they are in a lower light position now, but I can scoot them back towards that rock for more shadow. Pretty sure I tried this before, but its been a long journey. The flow is definitely low at this location, the polyps barely move. Also note, I do add liquid amino acids daily with the Red Sea AB+.

I've read that goni's may especially like Manganese, Iron and maybe even Potassium. Any experiences or advice here? I do add Julian Sprung's Sea Elements trace elements, but it does not list the exact ingredients. I did have an ICP test last August and it said Mn and K were low, Fe good (which I was happy to see as Chaeto uptakes Fe).