Finally!!

[mbender04]

So I bought a very poorly kept Yellow Finger Gorgonian from my lfs. I took the pic below the day I got it. As you can see it is naked, dark and skinny. This is also after I removed a load of algae. Ok, I'm a beginner and for some reason I just can't help but to take on difficult tasks. I know that gorgs are not generally an "easy keep" but I have been feeding him regularly and waiting and watching and making sure he looks good. He is so much brighter and richer in color now. That makes me very happy but this morning I went to look in on my tank and do a head count and whatnot and my little gorg. is finally showing off some great little polyps. Thanks for listening. I would show a new pic but my stinkin' dog ate my USB for my camera and I'm still waiting for my card reader to come in. I'll post one later of the gorg and my setup so far.

[erikharrison]

Everytime I see those, I think of Sponge Bob! They typically like dirtier water from what I have heard. Have you bought a good water test kit yet? That is a must buy. Salifert is the brand, and no others are recommended. Personally, I don't use Salifert, but the tests that I use are easily messed up. I use a medicine dropper to make sure that the water is at the exact level specified on the test. Unless you want to be like me and have :edit: THREE, not two tank crashes, slow down, buy the things that you absolutely need first. about 2" of sandbed, 1 lb of rock per gallon, 1 blue legged hermit per gallon, 1 snail per every 1 1/2 gallon, and get some seeded sand from someone that has a tank that has been around for several years to help with your stuff! I recommend this article, http://www.nvreefers.org/community/articles/new_to_salt.php?PHPSESSID=66798e32e3aec01334154bac 96feb88a

It's full of good information, so you won't sound all newbie, and you will have a much greater understanding of how much money you're about to spend ;)

[mbender04]

I do have a test kit. It's not the one you recommended but I'm happy you did because I'm not very satisfied with the one that I have. I have a two to three inch sand bed, depending on section of the tank, that has live and dead aragonite. I'm low on snails and crabs but do intend to get some more around Friday and I have a 29 gal. with 30 lbs of live rock that was already "cured" and came out of semi established tanks. I also just added some macroalgae in the tank which I was informed wasn't "trendy" but I'm ok with that. I like the way it looks. I do think i will get some cheato to put in as well. I don't think it could hurt. Also, not saying you wrong because I'm sure you know tons more than I do, but I watched that gorg in the lfs for about a month and never ever saw polyps on it and it was in pretty dirty water but in my tank it's finally looking healthy and my water is rather pristine if I do say so myself :) Thank you for the link Ill check it out.

[erikharrison]

I felt the same way about the gorgo, but as time went on, I knew it was time for a WC when the gorgo was showing it's polyps.

[mbender04]

See all that I have read about them is that some extension is a good sign and that no extension at all is not good.

[blueboy]

macro in the display isn't necesarily a bad thing, just be sure it doesn't get out of hand. it can be very difficult to get rid of once established, especially "grape" caulerpa.

[mbender04]

I don't like the look of the grape so don't worry about that :P I am actually not sure of the kind I got. It is like the stereotypical seaweed look. Long and wavy.

[blueboy]

just try to keep the caulerpa restricted to the sandbed, or certain rocks. once the roots get down into the pores of the rock, they are next to impossible to get rid of. i finally had to put a few rocks in my sump to deprive it of light for several months to kill it off.

[erikharrison]

it sounds like you got some caulerpa. www.myspace.com/caulerpa
I saw that on here, not sure if it's still the same. From what I learned at one our meetings, caulerpa is like abe stated above, hard to get rid of. Stick with chaeto!

In just about every saltwater forum that I have read, somewhere within its contents it has been suggested that Goniopora corals love “dirty", unskimmed, or unfiltered water. I have not observed or experienced any truth to this at all; in fact, I have only observed the opposite to be true. In my experience, Goniopora prefer to live in CLEAN WATER. I refer to “clean” water as water that is free from containing ammonia, nitrate, phosphate, dead waste, and unseen decaying organic matter. When Goniopora are kept in clean water and target fed small foods several times a week on a regular basis, they will maintain a very consistent behavior of strong polyp extension and continued growth. It becomes easier to see the need for a water change or an extra feeding because the coral will not seem quite as "happy" as it usually does; this same behavior can be observed with many captive coral species. I believe that the "love of dirty water" philosophy mainly arose from the continual confusion and misunderstanding of the difference between "dirty" water and "nutrient rich" water as it relates to Goniopora. Nutrients for goniopora in the wild consist of various planktons, invertebrate larvae, and tiny eggs; not nitrates. Freshly dissolved foods in the water column and fish waste deposited directly on the coral by chance may provide a very small amount of nutrition in the reef aquarium, but those "foods" will soon be converted to ammonia, nitrate, and phosphate, which are not nutrients for Goniopora. Pollution is not the solution!

I stand corrected ;)

[ClownReef®]

mbender- Try dosing Iodine (Lugols solution). It seems like you have some cyano crowing on it. Move it to a moderate flow area. If it gets completely covered, the tissue will start falling off.

I kept gorgonias for the longest time when i had my angler tank. The iodine will help with its overall growth.

[erikharrison]

iodine is a good supplement to use anyway, alot of softer stuff will thrive with iodine!

[mbender04]

Thanks. Like I said that is the first picture I took of it after I got it from the store. It looks much better now. I need a pretty low flow in my tank so I have one powerhead positioned above it that shoots the air across the surface then hits the opposite wall and ends its flow at the gorg. It seems like the optimal place for it to get the most food. I will definitely look up iodine and begin dosing as soon as I get a good understanding.