Gorgonians in Pony Tank

[cassilyn]

Hi all!

I'm still planning my pony tank. I have to wait until August to complete my build, but I have pretty much picked out everything I want. I just have a question. I want to put gorgonians in my tank and I understand that they do okay with ponies. Are there any particular ones I should stay away from? Also, I've found someplace to buy bigger specimens so that the ponies can begin using them as hitching posts sooner (if that isn't a problem?). KPaquatics.com. Does anyone have any experience with them? They seem like a great place, but I think I'll need to quarantine before putting the gorgonians in the tank. Am I right, or do I just check them for pests and put them in the main tank? My husband just bought me a two-sided quarantine/copepod-amphipod tank for mother's day, so I'll have somewhere to do it, I just don't know if it's going to be necessary, so I thought I'd ask here.

I also hope to put a leather or two in the tank. Is there anything special I need to know about these?

Thanks for all the help, everyone. Having such a welcoming place to ask questions is great.

Cassi

 

[vlangel]

Hi Cassi, ponies are an exciting adventure. Most any gorgonian would be fine. I like the dead man's finger gorg as they are fat and soft and easy to keep. My ponies loved them as hitches.

I never quarantined coral including gorgs but it's a good practice. When it comes to ponies an oz of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

I had leathers, mushrooms, xenia and palys without any problems. I also kept some LPS but they are more controversial as they have some stoney skeleton. I had duncans, acans, trumpets and never had a problem with any of them as well.

 

[cassilyn]

Hi Cassi, ponies are an exciting adventure. Most any gorgonian would be fine. I like the dead man's finger gorg as they are fat and soft and easy to keep. My ponies loved them as hitches.

I never quarantined coral including gorgs but it's a good practice. When it comes to ponies an oz of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Thanks! The dead man's finger was my first choice. They just look comfy! If I was putting them in a reef tank, I have to admit I probably wouldn't think about quarantining them. But ponies are so sensitive, it made me think. I do think you're right that it would be best to do so, especially since I have the quarantine tank ready. Thanks again!

 

[Charles4400]

Hi all!

I'm still planning my pony tank. I have to wait until August to complete my build, but I have pretty much picked out everything I want. I just have a question. I want to put gorgonians in my tank and I understand that they do okay with ponies. Are there any particular ones I should stay away from? Also, I've found someplace to buy bigger specimens so that the ponies can begin using them as hitching posts sooner (if that isn't a problem?). KPaquatics.com. Does anyone have any experience with them? They seem like a great place, but I think I'll need to quarantine before putting the gorgonians in the tank. Am I right, or do I just check them for pests and put them in the main tank? My husband just bought me a two-sided quarantine/copepod-amphipod tank for mother's day, so I'll have somewhere to do it, I just don't know if it's going to be necessary, so I thought I'd ask here.

I also hope to put a leather or two in the tank. Is there anything special I need to know about these?

Thanks for all the help, everyone. Having such a welcoming place to ask questions is great.

Cassi

Kp aquatics is awesome. I like them alot and have bought large fish (for non seahorse tanks) and gorgonians for my seahorse tank and everything I have gotten from them is very healthy and colorful ...including their live rock. They are a safe bet imo.

You are right about the size of the gorgs, as they tend to be very generous on sizing, Large is large! I ordered the spiny orange, yellow feather and yellow sea whip. By far my favorite is the orange spiny.

Its a nice orange color and my ponies tend to stay on those the most. Little white polyps look nice too. I'd recommend that one for sure.

I didn't quarantine but its not a bad idea as all their stuff is wild caught. But so far I haven't had any problems with them. And ponies love hitching to them!

 

[trvsty]

gonna watch this thread. i'm also planning my pony tank. have you considered using macroalgae as well?there are some nice varieties out there that can add some visual value to the tank as well as act as hitching posts/hiding places especially for smaller seahorses. might be beneficial if they breed too i'm assuming. but speaking of gorgs, one of my favorites is red finger gorgonian. i've seen that they're hard to care for but i've had one in my tank since the beginning and haven't had a single problem with it. it's a non-photosynthetic gorg so you should have some live phyto in the tank, mine also gets some reef roids by proxy. but the bright red color with white polyps is fire

 

[cassilyn]

Kp aquatics is awesome. I like them alot and have bought large fish (for non seahorse tanks) and gorgonians for my seahorse tank and everything I have gotten from them is very healthy and colorful ...including their live rock. They are a safe bet imo.

You are right about the size of the gorgs, as they tend to be very generous on sizing, Large is large! I ordered the spiny orange, yellow feather and yellow sea whip. By far my favorite is the orange spiny.

Its a nice orange color and my ponies tend to stay on those the most. Little white polyps look nice too. I'd recommend that one for sure.

I didn't quarantine but its not a bad idea as all their stuff is wild-caught. But so far I haven't had any problems with them. And ponies love hitching to them!

I had my eye on the spiny orange and the dead man fingers (a pale blue) that are absolutely gorgeous. Thanks for the review. I love what KPAquatics has on their site and can't wait to get my first corals from them. Now my husband is looking at their fish, thanks to your review. Appreciate it.

 

[Charles4400]

I had my eye on the spiny orange and the dead man fingers (a pale blue) that are absolutely gorgeous. Thanks for the review. I love what KPAquatics has on their site and can't wait to get my first corals from them. Now my husband is looking at their fish, thanks to your review. Appreciate it.

Here's the spiny orange I got from them

And the yellow sea whip

The dead man's fingers looked good in their site as well but I haven't seen it in person.

If you are into jawfish their bright yellow heads are really nice and colorful and have tons of personality. They can make a mess around their home scooping and spitting out sand but are a really fun fish to watch. I got two of them for the sh tank and they sell them cheap there compared to anywhere else.