the secret to keeping goni reveal

zephyros · August 31, 2005

for all goni keepers, foods for thots

maybe some of u had read this ... but i'll post it again for

those whom had miss it

The secret to keeping goni

cheers

neokn · August 31, 2005

Well, I must say.

Those definitely are the grossest feed ever ~ TBs. :sick: :sick:

akahoshi · August 31, 2005

Hehee.. Next time I collect all my tang's bomb and sell!!

Lelong!! Lelong!!

Akahoshi's TB Coral Food!!

ckkoon · August 31, 2005

Haha i got lots of TB to sell too. 4 big tangs in my tank bombing everyday...

csloo · September 1, 2005

zephyros, the link got problem lar....

zephyros · September 1, 2005

link ok .. anyway cut the text and paste below liao

reefnroll Hi Eric -

I'll start with an apolopgy for possibly bringing up something that's been covered in the past. I searched the site on this issue this morning and didn't find any earlier posts on this specific topic... so here it goes.

Last night witnessed my small (ping-pong ball sized) red/purple eye goniopora devour a feces bomb dropped onto it by a passing tang. The tang just happened to let loose as he was swimming over the goni, and the feast

began. The goniopora's polyps were already pretty fully extened, but when

the care package landed, the polyps were practically reaching over each

other to grab a section.

The tang, for the record, eats everything he can grab... but is particularly fond of fresh collected sea lettuce, collard greens (I admit it), and freeze dried nori from the local sushi joint. He grazes onsome combination of those greens all day... and tops it all off with a mysis chaser.

I feed the goni and a tiny (nickle sized) alveopora DT's, mysis, glden pearls, you name it. But I've never seen that type of immediate reaction by this little goniopora to any other type of food. Realizing that the feeding requirements for this coral are still a great mystery/challenge, I thought I'd share my observations.

I'm now following my purple tang around the tank with a turkey baster in hand, waiting to collect the next large dropping for a direct feeding. If it works again, I'll be replacing DTs with TBs (tang bombs).

Has anyone seen this before... or know about a possible direct goniopora-omnivore relationship?

Thanks,

bec

EricHugo This is a very very good observation!! The biology, life-history, ecology, and even some studies on Goniopora tend to suggest that active prey capture of zooplankton may not be a major source of food for them. Rather, I would suspect that particulate material (detritus) is quite improtant, and one unpublished study suggests that phytoplankton is found in the guts of some species in significant amounts. This observation supports both ideas at once. Detritus can be composed of feces, and tang feces contains lots of digested and undigested algae. It makes perfect sense that this is a perfect food source. However, there are a lot of species of Goniopora and they do not all live, by any means, in the same type environment. However however, most of those in the trade are fairly similar in their ecology, life history, etc. So, those brilliant blue and purple short tentacled Goniopora out on the outer reef wall may not be eating the same thing, but we don't see them in the trade, so what does it matter?

reefnroll Thanks Eric. I was feeling kind of crazy about that post. Your

reply makes all the difference. But honestly, even if you had told me

I was way off... I would have needed for my own sanity to try and

replicate what I saw to make sure. It seemed pretty remarkable to me.

In fact, I'm on a tear now to see if I can replicate the event, with digital

cam in hand... Then collect and direct feed if the goni's reaction appears consistent over a few feedings.

Last night as I was watching the tang rip at the nori and waiting for him to deliver again. While I as waiting I decided to try offering the little goni a completely saturated strip of nori...'unprocessed' by the tang. The goni polps kind of grabbed at the strip for a second, and then let it go altogether as if to say... 'Nope, that's not it." In the mean time I missed the tang collection... saw it blow back into the rocks on the other end of the tank. Impatience never pays.

I'll stay on task tonight and see what happens.

Thanks again for the response and the great background information.

I do realize there are untold numbers (species) of these animals, with as many feeding needs/habits... but it's fascinating to make even a small dent

these mysteries.

Mr Neutron I posted elsewhere about this but my large fluorescent green goniopora hosts a pair of ocellaris clowns for the past 1.4 years. It is growing a new lobe and has attached and grown into the rockwork. I strongly believe the coral is doing better because of this association in addition to large feedings of phytoplankton. Another short-tentacled goniopora in the same tank does not host fish and is not doing as well.

johara I too have seen my green goniopora eat "tang bombs". I have never seen it actively grab at anything else. Believe it or not, it seems to prefer hippo tang bomb to sailfin tang bomb, though it will take in some of the latter. I can't speak to whether this will help longevity as I have only had it a month. It is clearly growing, though I know it's way too soon to tell how it will do longer term. This is the first goni I have attempted in 13 years of reef keeping. I decided to try it as my tank has now been skimmerless for almost a year, seems very stable and swarming with life in the sandbed and on the rocks. Seemed as good an environment as any to give it a try.

Johara

samw I haven't really witnessed anything like that between my blue Hippo tang and my flowerpot yet. On the contrary, when I introduced my baby blue Hippo, it started eating the pedals from the tentacles of the coral and it closed up for over a month. I thought the coral was going to die. The tang was well fed twice a day with Seaweed Select and Formula 2 flake and freeze dried plankton yet it picked at the flowerpot all day. After a month of being closed up, I covered the coral with a cut-up plastic coke bottle and it immediately extended its tentacles again. Over the next little while, I would put the coke bottle back on whenever it closed up and everytime it would open again. Recently, I don't need to use the bottle much as the coral stays open and the tang has stopped eating it. Don't know why the tang has lost interest all of a sudden. Maybe because it is accustomed to a regular feeding schedule now. I've had the coral 6 months now and I haven't seen any tissue loss around the base.

Salt Creepy Any more news on this?

reefnroll Hi Salt Creepy -

I grab Tang bombs with the turkey baster every time I see them

and deposit them directly onto my goniopora. It's continues to

be the favorite food... by far. My goni - which began at about that size

of a quarter.. is now about 3 times that size, with great color and

extension. I also feed golden pearls and tahitian green (haven't

done DTs in more than 2 months or so).

Again.. all my own observations (and a few others who posted during

the first life of this thread)... but I swear by it. I wish someone with

more tang/goniopora resources would put some energy into

more experimentation here... I think we're really onto something.

Thanks for asking,

bec

EricHugo Another good observation, and as I have said, it makes sense...the combination of feces and algal waste is probably an excellent food for this coral..and others, too. Also a gentle nudge about skimmer effluent...lots of poop in there, and while we think its nasty, it may be tasty to some things. Coprophagy - its not just for dogs! hehehe

reefnroll As soon as I stop dry heaving I'm off to the skimmer for

a baster full of slime...

Well... ugh... maybe .. ugh...just an eyedropper to start.

Ugh! Someone else back me up here and give it a try.

I'll report back when.. ugh..

Thanks Eric!

bec

HWCOZ I have a formula for make your own tang bombs. When feeding nori in a lettuce clip, I always shake off the part that is hidden inside the clip after they've finished it, apparently a much appreciated treat by the fish. Well, one day the soggy nori stuck to the clip and as I was placing the clip back into the water for another swish, I got a whiff. It was rank! And as I was reaching for a net to get it out, too late, I saw the tangs gobbling it up, same as always.

I've never tried it on a gonipora, I never plan to own one, but I've noticed the leather corals perk up with the nori slime. I would bet many detrivores and bacterivores would love this stuff. And if the idea of rotten sheet algae is unappetizing, just refer to it as fermented nori. Just don't sniff it once properly aged.

gixxerrder1371 So has anyone tried useing the protein skimmer crap to feed a Gonipora ?

I plan to keep Alvepora and Gonipora in my 20 gal nano and would really like to know WTF to feed these things before i buy them and they die heh.

Let me know anymore info you found on the subject .

Thanks for the great topic

dellrio my goniopora eats pooh too =0)

reefnroll gixxerrder1371 -

Yes... I started this thread many months ago, and my goniopora is still

taking in all the tang bombs I can collect and turkey

baste onto it. I tried the skimmer crap, and that works

too... but it's not as physically efficient as the more solid

waste... but just as desirable it seems.

For the record... it's been about 11 months now, and my

red/purple gonipora has easily tripled in size. It started out with

a base that was only about the size of a quarter. Since my original

post way back whenever... in I haven't fed it anything

other than the tang crap, and once in a while some Golden Pearls.

I woulnd't call 11 months 'long term' success... but I'd say the

survival of this animal and it's displayed interest in this simple

food source is a solid start.

Good Luck,

bec

dellrio hmm.. this is an old post.. i guess i sorta stumbled upon it when searching for something. i dont remember.. but i am cusious... how.. well.. do u like wait around the tank all day till your tang craps? i mean i have seen my tang poop like 3 times only - once while above the goniopora-. how are u able to get it to go so often than u can catch it and feed it? as for the skimming thing.. do u just take a bit of gunk out and give it to it? and sounds to me like u do very well with gonioporas.. i rarely ask questions or bring mine up b/c i bet royally attached for owning one.. - and i bought mine before i heard it was tough to keep- but seems u have done well so i will follow your lead.. i will have to try to skimming thing

Salt Creepy I know, how about a funnel under a vegi-clip :-)

reefnroll I received a PM today asking for an update on this coral.

Here's a shot from this morning. As noted in my first post about this goniopora at the top of this thread - 3 years ago - it was the size of a ping-pong ball. It is now much larger than a softball and continues to encrust on rocks around it.

bec

90OcReef so the skimmate? that has worked really well? or did you not really try?

reefnroll I did it a few times, but nothing over a long period. The tang went to a new home a few months ago. I still feed the reef well and keep good, random flow over that coral. It continues to thrive.

b

90OcReef thanks for the reply. my goni is going down hill... I'm trying to revive it the best that i can.

reefnroll If you haven't already tried the skimmate, seems like now is as good a time as any. Good luck... I hope it turns around.

b

90OcReef Thanks again, i am going to try my best!

-Jess

csloo · September 1, 2005

wow...Thanks a lot bro.....

RAV-65 · September 1, 2005

One suggestion, keep the gonio at a dead spot where all the TB always collects and it can feed itself... no need to standby and "capture" the poo to feed the gonio right?