Social D
25-02-07, 02:54
Hello, not quite sure how to start this thread but i have a passion for gonioporas and would like to see other peoples thoughts on the husbandry etc .
Ok i will start the ball rolling with some info on them iv'e managed to collect over the last 15 years of keeping them, this info is all my own experience with them as i dont see the point in typing other peoples thoughts on corals.
First off i started keeping them in the early 90's and really didnt have much success they used to bail out within a few months and die, i really think this was down to my complete ignorance in general water quality amongst other thing i shall move onto.
Some do's and dont's
Now i really dont profess to be any expert on these corals and these are just some things ive noted over the years if any of these observations help anybody in anyway then this post will make it worthwhile.
My observations on flow are thus, They imo need very small surges in flow around the tank to thrive goni's do not like a full thrust of a powerhead bashing them about they ideally like mid tank flow with a gentle flow motion
a great addition is a wavemaker they really seem to like this, many say also they thrive on the sandbed , And quite rightly so but be careful of clown fish and this position in the tank they often mistake them for ''coral hosts''.
Now the lighting issue i have found they dont like a metal halibe smack bang above them they seem to do better left or right under the main light source
and they can do quite well under t5 and t8's although they have to be high up.
Feeding them! Ok it's well known that they take plytoplankton from the natural reef and how do we supplement this in the home aquarium?.
I have mainly fed mine on Coral vibrance and salifert coral food and all has seemed well but iv'e found a new product lately thats really giving them a boost and thats Coral Frenzy i highly reccomend this product they really do perk up from target feeding!.
Some do's and dont's again with them, Ime they do not like the hand that feeds so to speak do not touch any part of the goni this can lead to tissue ressision and possiball death, Again getting back to clown fish these fish may well try and host in that lovely goni you have just purchased from the lfs and it's a possibal they will bite and tear open a goni's flesh the main culprets are tomato clowns these really will hassle a goni unless they are provided with an ulternative host.
Some other critters that may harm goni's are large hermit crabs these can be minature bulldozers in a tank and can dislodge a goni from it's site also
urchins can stick spikes into the goni and should be avoided!.
Placement in the tank should be mid flow or either on the bottom i happen to have mine milliputted on rocks in mid flow.
Water quality like many corals should be spot on my tank has 0 phos and 0 nitrate these two are essential in long term success with them, all other parameters should be intune aswell..
ok not a definative log as such but anybody who has kept them regardless of time and success could you post notes on them to help others, postitive and negative findings are more than welcome, hopefully we can get some sort of info going on them for anybody wishing to keep these wonderful corals.:thumbsup:
My stokesi and red goni, ... stokesi is 9 months old and red one around 2 months
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h320/sigster500/mini-gonis.jpg
Any thoughts and observations would be cool.
cheers :wave:
Ok i will start the ball rolling with some info on them iv'e managed to collect over the last 15 years of keeping them, this info is all my own experience with them as i dont see the point in typing other peoples thoughts on corals.
First off i started keeping them in the early 90's and really didnt have much success they used to bail out within a few months and die, i really think this was down to my complete ignorance in general water quality amongst other thing i shall move onto.
Some do's and dont's
Now i really dont profess to be any expert on these corals and these are just some things ive noted over the years if any of these observations help anybody in anyway then this post will make it worthwhile.
My observations on flow are thus, They imo need very small surges in flow around the tank to thrive goni's do not like a full thrust of a powerhead bashing them about they ideally like mid tank flow with a gentle flow motion
a great addition is a wavemaker they really seem to like this, many say also they thrive on the sandbed , And quite rightly so but be careful of clown fish and this position in the tank they often mistake them for ''coral hosts''.
Now the lighting issue i have found they dont like a metal halibe smack bang above them they seem to do better left or right under the main light source
and they can do quite well under t5 and t8's although they have to be high up.
Feeding them! Ok it's well known that they take plytoplankton from the natural reef and how do we supplement this in the home aquarium?.
I have mainly fed mine on Coral vibrance and salifert coral food and all has seemed well but iv'e found a new product lately thats really giving them a boost and thats Coral Frenzy i highly reccomend this product they really do perk up from target feeding!.
Some do's and dont's again with them, Ime they do not like the hand that feeds so to speak do not touch any part of the goni this can lead to tissue ressision and possiball death, Again getting back to clown fish these fish may well try and host in that lovely goni you have just purchased from the lfs and it's a possibal they will bite and tear open a goni's flesh the main culprets are tomato clowns these really will hassle a goni unless they are provided with an ulternative host.
Some other critters that may harm goni's are large hermit crabs these can be minature bulldozers in a tank and can dislodge a goni from it's site also
urchins can stick spikes into the goni and should be avoided!.
Placement in the tank should be mid flow or either on the bottom i happen to have mine milliputted on rocks in mid flow.
Water quality like many corals should be spot on my tank has 0 phos and 0 nitrate these two are essential in long term success with them, all other parameters should be intune aswell..
ok not a definative log as such but anybody who has kept them regardless of time and success could you post notes on them to help others, postitive and negative findings are more than welcome, hopefully we can get some sort of info going on them for anybody wishing to keep these wonderful corals.:thumbsup:
My stokesi and red goni, ... stokesi is 9 months old and red one around 2 months
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h320/sigster500/mini-gonis.jpg
Any thoughts and observations would be cool.
cheers :wave: