Keeping gorgonians and sps

Punchanello · Oct 22, 2018

Hi All,

When I started my tank 9 months ago I had a plan to have a mixed reef. I've since got the SPS bug and stopped adding non-SPS corals and gearing my parameters, flow etc towards acros etc. My plan is to keep my existing non-sps coral while it remains healthy but move it on if it begins to decline.

Anyway, two corals that have thrived under the new conditions are, oddly enough, two NPS gorgonians. One is a pacific sea fan (white polyps, maroon skeleton) and the other I can't for the life of me find a positive ID on. It looks something like a purple sea rod with purple polyps and white/beige stems. Not convinced it is a sea rod though because it branches laterally. Anyway...

I was wondering if anyone had any success keeping gorgonians and SPS in the same tank. I run carbon to deal with any chemical warfare which is what I am most concerned about. So far I haven't witnessed any issues either for the gorgs or the SPS. In fact both seem to be growing and happy and seem satisfied with my clam, reef-roid, roe and nori blend concoction.

Thanks!

shred5 · Oct 22, 2018

I have never had a issue with it. I have had gorgonia in pretty much every tank.

shred5 · Oct 24, 2018

Sorry I will expand on this I was busy at the time.

I think anytime you have a mixed tank it call be a little more challenging. Coral allelopathy defiantly come into play more with softies even though I believe it can be a issue also with sps and stonies just not as much.
Lps seem to like to use more sweepers for attacking other corals.

I know allot of people say they have had issues with gorgonia but it is anecdotal really. It is thought but never proven Gorgonia may be more aggressive chemically than some other corals.
Allot of people have issues and like to blame something and sometimes things get passed down that is not true. They Have issues with their tank and read gorgonia can be a issue and think that that is there problem but with no proof. They could be worse or they may not be. I have never had a issue with them nor anyone that I actually know and there is no proof either way.

I have never had a issue and have kept tons of gorgonia, I have a hundred gallon vat full of them right now. My last frag tank was 1/3 gorgonia, 1/3 zoanthids/ 1/3 sps and not one issue.
I have kept them in pretty much every tank because they are one of my favorites. I have been in the reef hobby 30+ years.

I think we should always take precautions and do water changes, run carbon or polyfilters. I really like polyfilters. Take precautions.

Punchanello · Oct 24, 2018

Thanks shred5. That's really helpful. I certainly believed that Gorgonia came with an increased risk because of what I keep reading. In my very limited experience so far I have had no such problems.

It's a shame that belief is out there really because the ones I have seem to enjoy a lot of the same conditions as my sps. Strong flow, lots of particulate organics in the water etc. Not to mention the fact that aesthetically they bring something different to the table.

I love them