lighting for a flower pot coral

BradsOcean · 02/25/2007, 11:02 PM

I have 65watt power compacts for my 38 gallon tank. I have 47 lbs LR and 40lbs LS. I dont know why I just told you how much LR and LS i have but is the lighting enought for a gonopora?
Thank you!!!!!!!

b.branscombe · 02/25/2007, 11:18 PM

I can't answer your question about the lighting req's, but I might as well be the one to ask what everyone else will if someone doesn't first. Have you done research into the care requirements for Goniopora? It is considered one of the hardest corals to keep alive in captivity.

BradsOcean · 02/25/2007, 11:20 PM

the person who sold it to me said that it was one of the easiest corals to keep alive. He said it was just as easy as mushrooms and polyps.

b.branscombe · 02/25/2007, 11:30 PM

If you were truely sold a Goniopora, I'm afraid you've been mislead. It is very rare to see one survive more than a couple of months. Is it possible to return it?

kayaaandjaden · 02/25/2007, 11:40 PM

I heard the same thing. Right after I purchased one myself. It's been about a month and a half. It still looks good, but I haven't hears one person sing success.
I wish some one would come forward with some suggestions on prolonging what seems like the inevitable.

IPowderBlueTang · 02/26/2007, 12:25 AM

I am sorry to tell you, but who told you it was easy coral mislead you big time! I see alot of newbies buying them because they look pretty and it dies on them. Or the LFS wants just to sell the coral and mislead the buyer or doesn't say anything knowing it's survival rate is dismal at the least.
I got one from a newbie that was on it's last leg and it took me 6 weeks to nurse it back to health!
Good site for info is Goniopora forum: http://www.goniopora.org/forum/index.php?board=1.0
Hope this helps!

cdangel0 · 02/26/2007, 08:28 AM

I had someone give me a small frag a few months ago, placed it relatively high in the tank under PC lighting and moderate flow.
It has grown well and was looking extremely healthy. I'm sure it is still very healthy but something managed to knock it off it's ledge and is lost in my rock work at the moment.

But the point is I have had 1 for about 3 months without issue, I've heard that no one has been successful keeping them over a year though.

Just my $.02 though.

JokerGirl · 02/26/2007, 10:06 AM

Goniopora are very tough to keep. Although they are photosynthetic, they don't do well without being target fed daily. They are found in turbid (mild current) and very nutrient rich waters. Go to that site that Powder Blue gave you and learn as much as you can. Due to the fact that they require constant target feeding, Goniopora are usually starving by the time they get to the consumer.

From what I have learned about Goniopora is that they are highly prone to Brown Jelly infection, and you are going to need to be very careful when handling it so you don't damage the tissue. Any tissue damage will most likely result in an infection, and because they are usually in poor health, they can not ward off the infection even if you give them daily Iodine dips for a month+.

I picked up one that is rather rare, and it did contract an infection. I've been working with it the last couple weeks to try and get it healed up. Luckily, I knew what I was taking on when I bought it a couple months ago, and it was in good health so it's been able to ward off the infection. Despite some tissue loss, it appears to be healing and doing okay.

You need to get on that website and read read read read. Don't be afraid to ask John Kelley questions on his forums, he's very nice and willing to work with anyone that comes on there.

For now, do not place it in the sandbed until you find out if it is a free living specimen or not. If it isn't, then the sandbed will cause tissue damage. I'm not sure if PC will be enough light or not, but I do know that they are fairly light sensitive to MH. This also depends on their colour though.

Hope that helps... please go to www.goniopora.org!!!!

Aaarrrggg · 02/26/2007, 10:19 AM

I'm in the same boat. My LFS said that it was an easy coral and my boyfriend really wanted it so I thought 'what the hey!' Got it home and did some reading only to find that its stupidally hard to keep alive and nobody really knows for sure what they require to be happy! Great.

cristhiam · 02/26/2007, 10:50 AM

I have one for about 2+ years geting closer to 3 I think, just recently (about 4+/- months) starting to receide I think is due to my clowns hosting it or started going down when I upgrade my tank a year ago, I've tried to feed it with no success, cyclopeze, mysids, even chopped up flake soacked with selcome and formula 1, so I gave up trying this, that was a while ago. I did use ken phytoplankton and zooplankton (maybe I shoud restart using this) on the 55G, mine it's allways been in no direct lightning and medium flow.

02/25/2007, 11:02 PM	#1
BradsOcean Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: The Island Posts: 1,173	lighting for a flower pot coral I have 65watt power compacts for my 38 gallon tank. I have 47 lbs LR and 40lbs LS. I dont know why I just told you how much LR and LS i have but is the lighting enought for a gonopora? Thank you!!!!!!!

02/25/2007, 11:20 PM	#3
BradsOcean Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: The Island Posts: 1,173	the person who sold it to me said that it was one of the easiest corals to keep alive. He said it was just as easy as mushrooms and polyps. __________________ the low cost of 3 Ramen meals a day is feeding my zoa addiction Current Tank Info: had a few small reefs in the past, researching for my future 125 :)

02/26/2007, 10:06 AM	#8
JokerGirl Whistler's Mother Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: That place Posts: 1,345	Goniopora are very tough to keep. Although they are photosynthetic, they don't do well without being target fed daily. They are found in turbid (mild current) and very nutrient rich waters. Go to that site that Powder Blue gave you and learn as much as you can. Due to the fact that they require constant target feeding, Goniopora are usually starving by the time they get to the consumer. From what I have learned about Goniopora is that they are highly prone to Brown Jelly infection, and you are going to need to be very careful when handling it so you don't damage the tissue. Any tissue damage will most likely result in an infection, and because they are usually in poor health, they can not ward off the infection even if you give them daily Iodine dips for a month+. I picked up one that is rather rare, and it did contract an infection. I've been working with it the last couple weeks to try and get it healed up. Luckily, I knew what I was taking on when I bought it a couple months ago, and it was in good health so it's been able to ward off the infection. Despite some tissue loss, it appears to be healing and doing okay. You need to get on that website and read read read read. Don't be afraid to ask John Kelley questions on his forums, he's very nice and willing to work with anyone that comes on there. For now, do not place it in the sandbed until you find out if it is a free living specimen or not. If it isn't, then the sandbed will cause tissue damage. I'm not sure if PC will be enough light or not, but I do know that they are fairly light sensitive to MH. This also depends on their colour though. Hope that helps... please go to www.goniopora.org!!!! __________________ 01000001 01101110 01111001 01101111 01101110 01100101 00111111 Current Tank Info: 120g Reef Tank, 60g Cube Mantis/Reef Tank, Want more info, ask me.

02/26/2007, 10:50 AM	#10
cristhiam Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Groveland, FL Posts: 3,099	I have one for about 2+ years geting closer to 3 I think, just recently (about 4+/- months) starting to receide I think is due to my clowns hosting it or started going down when I upgrade my tank a year ago, I've tried to feed it with no success, cyclopeze, mysids, even chopped up flake soacked with selcome and formula 1, so I gave up trying this, that was a while ago. I did use ken phytoplankton and zooplankton (maybe I shoud restart using this) on the 55G, mine it's allways been in no direct lightning and medium flow. __________________ 2 yellows tail damsels, yellow watchman goby, tail spot blennie, purple pseudocromis, starry blennie, 2 clowns, 1 black clown, mandarine & Yellow tang Current Tank Info: 125 AGA, 3 40W 6500K, 3 110W URI Actinics, running on 2 IceCaps 660, CSS125

02/25/2007, 11:18 PM	#2
b.branscombe Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Ontario Posts: 407	I can't answer your question about the lighting req's, but I might as well be the one to ask what everyone else will if someone doesn't first. Have you done research into the care requirements for Goniopora? It is considered one of the hardest corals to keep alive in captivity.

02/25/2007, 11:30 PM	#4
b.branscombe Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Ontario Posts: 407	If you were truely sold a Goniopora, I'm afraid you've been mislead. It is very rare to see one survive more than a couple of months. Is it possible to return it?

02/25/2007, 11:40 PM	#5
kayaaandjaden Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Florida Posts: 311	I heard the same thing. Right after I purchased one myself. It's been about a month and a half. It still looks good, but I haven't hears one person sing success. I wish some one would come forward with some suggestions on prolonging what seems like the inevitable.

02/26/2007, 12:25 AM	#6
IPowderBlueTang Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Kalamazoo, Canada Posts: 769	I am sorry to tell you, but who told you it was easy coral mislead you big time! I see alot of newbies buying them because they look pretty and it dies on them. Or the LFS wants just to sell the coral and mislead the buyer or doesn't say anything knowing it's survival rate is dismal at the least. I got one from a newbie that was on it's last leg and it took me 6 weeks to nurse it back to health! Good site for info is Goniopora forum: http://www.goniopora.org/forum/index.php?board=1.0 Hope this helps!

02/26/2007, 08:28 AM	#7
cdangel0 Moved On Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Delaware Posts: 905	I had someone give me a small frag a few months ago, placed it relatively high in the tank under PC lighting and moderate flow. It has grown well and was looking extremely healthy. I'm sure it is still very healthy but something managed to knock it off it's ledge and is lost in my rock work at the moment. But the point is I have had 1 for about 3 months without issue, I've heard that no one has been successful keeping them over a year though. Just my $.02 though.

02/26/2007, 10:19 AM	#9
Aaarrrggg Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Austin, Tx Posts: 866 Blog Entries: 53	I'm in the same boat. My LFS said that it was an easy coral and my boyfriend really wanted it so I thought 'what the hey!' Got it home and did some reading only to find that its stupidally hard to keep alive and nobody really knows for sure what they require to be happy! Great.