ID this Coral Please

[tench1]

Just bought this. Shop keeper cant seems to give me a definite name.

Any bros or sis can help?

Whats the conditions to keep this strong and healthy?

in advance!

[demonsori]

Just bought this. Shop keeper cant seems to give me a definite name.

Any bros or sis can help?

Whats the conditions to keep this strong and healthy?

in advance!

name : goniopora

do a search online for more generic info...

mine did not last more than 3 mths even with feeding ...guess my 2x 24watt t5 not bright enough.... any one else care to share??

[ambystoma82]

they do best in dirty water with alot of tiny food particles..

[tench1]

name : goniopora

do a search online for more generic info...

mine did not last more than 3 mths even with feeding ...guess my 2x 24watt t5 not bright enough.... any one else care to share??

Thanks Demon bro, i managed to find some info on regards to this new baby.

Below are the write up for it.

For those whom had theirs survived for > 1 year, congrats! Please share your parameters!

Scientific Name: Goniopora sp.

Classification: LPS

Common Names: Flower Pot Coral, Goniopora Coral

Description:

Typically rounded or oblong colonies with polyps that have 24 tentacles. Similar species Alveopora, always has 12 tentacles. Color most often seen is green as seen in the baby above. Other more colorful variations exist including pink and purple as shown above.

Veron: Colonies are usually branching, columnar or massive but may be encrusting. Corallites have thick but porous walls and calices are filled with compacted septa and columellae. Polyps are long and fleshy and tentacles are normally extended day and night. Polyps have 24 tentacles. Different species have polyps of different shapes and colors.

Natural Environment:

Veron: Low to moderate current areas such as lagoons and often associated with turbid water conditions.

Care:

Hardiness: Goniopora is delicate and long term survival (>12 months) is probably less than 10%. Not recommended for the beginning hobbyist, although success is as much luck as skill at this point in our understanding of this coral. It does appear that the more colorful short tentacled specimens, like the pink and purple shown above are more hardy than the more common greenish brown versions with long tentacles.

Lighting: Seems to like moderate lighting in general. Brightly colored specimens seem to like the highest intensity lighting. The specimens above are all kept 24" under 400W 10K MH lamps.

Water Current: Seem to prefer moderate water motion which keeps their polyps gently waving in the water current.

Temperature: Does well within a range of at least 77º to 84º F

Aggressiveness: Appears to be low.

Feeding: Goniopora is photosynthetic and does not take any known foods. The method of death when a specimen dies is usually a long period of decline that may be caused by nutritional deficiency. What is lacking is unfortunately so far unknown. Its natural habitat of turbid lagoons indicates that it may benefit from less than pristine water.

Supplements: Maintaining correct calcium and alkalinity levels is undoubtedly important for skeletal development

Tank Positioning: Best positioning is in moderate water flow, in a moderate to high light area of the tank.

[yikai]

this coral up to only recently was believed to be impossible to sustain for a long period of time. but there are reefers who have kept them for many many years. how?

goniopora require less than average reef quality systems. as bro amby said, they like "dirty" water. gonios are found in turbid nutrient rich water in the wild. where minuet food particles are abundant. this coral is very hard to keep. "growth" is only considered when u see new calcerous skeleton growing and new polyps emerging. the polyps can greatly expand/contract which lets most ppl believe that it is "growing"

[tench1]

this coral up to only recently was believed to be impossible to sustain for a long period of time. but there are reefers who have kept them for many many years. how?

goniopora require less than average reef quality systems. as bro amby said, they like "dirty" water. gonios are found in turbid nutrient rich water in the wild. where minuet food particles are abundant. this coral is very hard to keep. "growth" is only considered when u see new calcerous skeleton growing and new polyps emerging. the polyps can greatly expand/contract which lets most ppl believe that it is "growing"

How about a tank that is fish based set up? Dirty enough? haha

Any advice?

Is it appropriate to place it on the sand bed? or mid range depth? Which will have lotsa wave...

[yikai]

How about a tank that is fish based set up? Dirty enough? haha

Any advice?

Is it appropriate to place it on the sand bed? or mid range depth? Which will have lotsa wave...

moderate wave is enough. sand bed or mid range is fine.

[tench1]

moderate wave is enough. sand bed or mid range is fine.

Thanks Lemon, Let me try and feedback again

[boxerz]

The "dirty" water they like does not literally mean water that is high in dissolved nutrients like nitrates. They like pretty pristine conditions and the factor that will determine their survival or not is continous feedings. Yes, they need to be target fed, at least once every 2 days or so. Cylopeeze seems to be the maximum food particle that the bigger gonioporas can consume so anything smaller are recommended. Their mouths are at the tip of each and every polyp. And yes, the red ones have higher rate of survival than the green ones but they are definitely more expensive.

If they do not expand in moderate wave, try to move them to a slower wave region.

Lemon mentioned an important fact which is gonios are found in turbid nutrient rich water in the wild. where minuet food particles are abundant. The important phrase is minute food particles are abundant. So you can gauge how often they actually feed themselves.

Hope this helps you.

[yikai]

The "dirty" water they like does not literally mean water that is high in dissolved nutrients like nitrates. They like pretty pristine conditions and the factor that will determine their survival or not is continous feedings. Yes, they need to be target fed, at least once every 2 days or so. Cylopeeze seems to be the maximum food particle that the bigger gonioporas can consume so anything smaller are recommended. Their mouths are at the tip of each and every polyp. And yes, the red ones have higher rate of survival than the green ones but they are definitely more expensive.

If they do not expand in moderate wave, try to move them to a slower wave region.

Lemon mentioned an important fact which is gonios are found in turbid nutrient rich water in the wild. where minuet food particles are abundant. The important phrase is minute food particles are abundant. So you can gauge how often they actually feed themselves.

Hope this helps you.

yes thank you boxerz for this good write up.

gonios are found in water where planktonic life are passing tru them almost 24/7. so they get a continous supply of food. if u try to replicate that in ur tank it will be pretty difficult. and not to mention fouling of water...

therefore feeding at least 2 times a day for gonios. if not once a day.

[Vlamingi_cont]

This is a gonio or wad the LFS call jewel quite difficult to keep... Smaller ezier to keep in my opinion... Mine with me for abt 2 mths liao...

[tench1]

Hi All, there is the latest picuture i have of my jewel.

Seems like it prefer mid-range to the bottom. And the wave at this position is medium flow.

At this position, the polyps are much longer extended.

Im currently feeding my tank with Purple up and Coral Fluid.

Is it sufficent nutrients for it? Any recommandation of food that i must add?

Thanks Boxer and lemon bros for the advice so far

[yikai]

gonios are very hard to keep. most ppl keep it for a few months like 6-7, and then think that they it is a success. but its just delaying their death. i have no idea what to feed it. mine died the last time and i din get another one.

[boxerz]

Purple up promotes coraline growth by supplementing dissolved ionic calcium, while coral fluid I think is too liquid for the goniopora ( I don't know what the product is but since it says liquid, the solid particles must be extrememly small).

Food for goniopora:

You cannot drop some food into the water column and expect it to be sufficient for the goniopora. They need to be target fed, ie use of stryinge or other targeting devices and pump food directly to their polyps. Without target feeding they will slowly starve because the food they capture from the water column is just not enough to feed them.

Cyclopeeze has a size of 800 microns and only some of the bigger gonios can swallow. Otherwise, any food smaller are recommended. Oyster eggs are quite popular ( not cheap) and they are less than half the size of cyclopeeze.

Feeding technique:

Cover the goniopora with a clear container (enough to cover the coral) to keep the food from fish. Target some food at the polyps through a small opening in the container. Give them sometime to take in the food (not too long because it can suffocate the coral).

How to see it is feeding or not ?

You can see the mouths of the polyps opening for the food, their polyps will generally retract. It is also possible to see the food travelling down from mouth through the polyps and into the coral digestive system within the skeleton.

This is why people find it hard to keep gonios alive because most people don't feed enough. With sufficient food and care, I think they will do well and be a great addition to your tank.

[Vlamingi_cont]

Hi All, there is the latest picuture i have of my jewel.

Seems like it prefer mid-range to the bottom. And the wave at this position is medium flow.

At this position, the polyps are much longer extended.

Im currently feeding my tank with Purple up and Coral Fluid.

Is it sufficent nutrients for it? Any recommandation of food that i must add?

Thanks Boxer and lemon bros for the advice so far

Still can extend more on leh...

[tench1]

Actually, it extended longer when i off the wavemaker

[boxerz]

you only have 1x wavemaker creating the current ?

[tench1]

you only have 1x wavemaker creating the current ?

Nope, i have 2 x Wave maker infact.

The Tunze one is still powered on. while the other that is blowing near the Jewel, is off.

And infact, last nite, i did a test. The Extention is infact longer when i only power on 1 x WaveMaker!!

[yikai]

Nope, i have 2 x Wave maker infact.

The Tunze one is still powered on. while the other that is blowing near the Jewel, is off.

And infact, last nite, i did a test. The Extention is infact longer when i only power on 1 x WaveMaker!!

bingo. they dont like too high flow. brisk water movement around them is good. but wave blasting at them is no no. u might want to aim those wavemakers at other areas of ur tank, or at each other. to create brisk and random water movements.

jewels appreciate soft flow and gentle current tru them. their polyps should be swaying gently in the wave and not being trashed around. but ensure that water circulation is good to bring food to it. in the wild, like i have said, they live in turbid conditions with good water movement around them carrying food particles.

[tench1]

bingo. they dont like too high flow. brisk water movement around them is good. but wave blasting at them is no no. u might want to aim those wavemakers at other areas of ur tank, or at each other. to create brisk and random water movements.

jewels appreciate soft flow and gentle current tru them. their polyps should be swaying gently in the wave and not being trashed around. but ensure that water circulation is good to bring food to it. in the wild, like i have said, they live in turbid conditions with good water movement around them carrying food particles.

Now the challenge is to feed them with mini solid food.

This is something that i have to overcome.

Any advice how many times a week? or once every day? (That will be super tiring...)

considering the method suggested by Boxer Bro.

[yikai]

now u know why this coral is so hard. feeding wise i dunno. never kept this before. only for awhile before it died. =\

[tench1]

now u know why this coral is so hard. feeding wise i dunno. never kept this before. only for awhile before it died. =\

Let me try feeding at least once a week for a start.

Then i update again. Lets me see how the polyp consume their food!