Diodogorgia nodulifera

[Ocean Corals]

I bought a Diodogorgia nodulifera about 2 months ago and the first 2 weeks it looked amazing fully out and looking very happy! BUT then it slowly stopped coming out :( so i phoned my LFS and they told me it needs feeding (at the time they said that it dunt which will have been a honest mistake as they are normally very very very very good and id recommend them to any1) So it ant been out in over a month but it has not lost its colour, Do you think it will be dead?? Or just very hungry?

Paul

[cajen]

Not an easy gorg to keep as they aren't photosynthetic. They'll need target feeding - Cyclopeeze works well and elicits an opening of the polyps. Fauna Marin also do a special gorg food which you could try.

[Ocean Corals]

Not an easy gorg to keep as they aren't photosynthetic. They'll need target feeding - Cyclopeeze works well and elicits an opening of the polyps. Fauna Marin also do a special gorg food which you could try.

But do you thik its already died??

Paul

[cajen]

Difficult to say - try posting a pic.

[KeithM]

As per clive, post a photo first

D. nodulifera are non-photosynthetic. They require feeding and I get a good response with frozen cyclops and rotifers. I also use a range of Fauna Marin and other particulate foods. D. nodulifera are a little easier than other azoo corals because they have quite large polyps and IME are capable of taking a range of particle sizes.

D. nodulifera will never lose their colour unless the flesh strips to reveal the underlying structure/skelton (technically they don't have a skelton)

I will move this thread into the azoox coral forum

[dendro982RC]

If you take a look at the branches, mostly you will see the red tissue with dots, where polyps retracted. In case of starvation (and a low flow, together) the part of the branch becomes twice thinner - the ragged surface and no dots of contracted polyps.

If you don't have this - very good, just start feeding, at least trice daily - morning, after return from the work, before the night.
Small pinch of the 250-800 micron food, variety counts, mostly zooplankton.

My criteria is seeing the polyps actually catching food:
From normal state:
http://thumb1.webshots.net/t/57/457/2/62/54/2526262540081040121SnqFCo_th.jpg (http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2526262540081040121SnqFCo) to this: http://thumb1.webshots.net/t/16/17/3/80/64/2424380640081040121BAFzpE_th.jpg (http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2424380640081040121BAFzpE) http://thumb1.webshots.net/t/59/659/2/80/66/2151280660081040121rTvAyb_th.jpg (http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2151280660081040121rTvAyb)
if the coral is close to the glass, you can see the food, moving down the polyps.

The flow should be up to slightly bending polyps, otherwise it will be difficult for them to feed.

It the coral is not opening for a feeding, continue to add food into the water, in smaller quantities: at start should appear the polyps or two on duty - watching for the food coming, then all eventually should open.

If you see the ragged central core, without polyps, there are two option: frag it (should be no problems here) or leave as is (if mo microalgae or dirt settled on it), feed and watch, if regeneration starts.

Keep us posted, photos are welcome (you know about free image hosts, right?).
Good luck!

[Ocean Corals]

Thanks for the info guys here is some pix

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e212/lil_emy_lou/1032.jpg
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e212/lil_emy_lou/1030.jpg

And thanks very much Dendro982RC Very help full post!

Cheers

Paul

[dendro982RC]

Alive! Now just feed it - polyps should open sooner or later, they react on the presence food in the water. Cyclop eeze or similar size zooplankton or substitutes.

The skeleton, protruding from the soft tissue, can be cut off by the stainless scissors, without removing the coral from the tank. If it is on the edge of disintegration - you will sense like cutting through dry sponge, if in good condition - as a stem of a woody weed.

Good luck!

[Ocean Corals]

Alive! Now just feed it - polyps should open sooner or later, they react on the presence food in the water. Cyclop eeze or similar size zooplankton or substitutes.

The skeleton, protruding from the soft tissue, can be cut off by the stainless scissors, without removing the coral from the tank. If it is on the edge of disintegration - you will sense like cutting through dry sponge, if in good condition - as a stem of a woody weed.

Good luck!

cheers mate i wil get some zooplankton on the weekend :thumbsup:

Cheers

Paul

[Shultz]

You want Cyclopeeze m8

Cheers, Shelton.

[Ocean Corals]

You want Cyclopeeze m8

Cheers, Shelton.

Ok mate cheers. Is this a liquid?? If so how do i feed a coral thats in a good flow area with a liquid??

Cheers


Paul

[Shultz]

It can be bought as a powder which is kept in the fridge or as a frozen bar, I prefer the powder & just rehydrate a little in some tank water before using a syringe to blow it gently across the corals

Should be able to get it from just about any LFS....

http://www.cyclop-eeze.com/

Cheers, Shelton.

[Ocean Corals]

It can be bought as a powder which is kept in the fridge or as a frozen bar, I prefer the powder & just rehydrate a little in some tank water before using a syringe to blow it gently across the corals

Should be able to get it from just about any LFS....

http://www.cyclop-eeze.com/

Cheers, Shelton.

Cheers mate!! I'll get on to it this weekend

Paul

[Shultz]

Remember to use it sparingly!

Cheers, Shelton.

[Kreeger1]

Can you guys get nutramar uva? It's much better to use then Cyclopeeze. I've actually phased out the use of it in my tank now.

I wish I could find some of the products you guys get like the ultramin products over in the states.
Erik

[Shultz]

http://www.ultralith.com

[Kreeger1]

is that link to the products or another forum?

[Shultz]

Its a us-based forum for users of the Fm products, you should be able to get a supplier through that?

Shelton.

[Ocean Corals]

I'v added the Cyclopeeze twice now and nothing has happen any idea's??

What i did was i added a half a tea spoon to about 500ml of water mixed it up then with a syringe i blow it gently around the coral. I did this about 3 times per 300ml. I did not turn of the power heads which thinking about it i prob should have!! Anyway only about 5 polops came out and they only came out about a mill or 2. Since then i did the same thing 2or 3 days later and nothing at all happend :( Am i doing it rite??? My tangs and flame keep pecking at it so that int gunna help!! Any advice any1??

Paul

[Shultz]

I would say you have it in too little or too much flow, the tangs will be pecking at algae build up on it, so I suspect its in too low a flow?

Also I wouldn't feed as much cyclo as that! I feed a level one of those blue spoons that come in a salifert kit & thats on a quite heavily stocked filter feeding tank!

Shelton.

[Kreeger1]

Thats a ton to much to feed, that amount should feed your tank 20 times or more.

[Ocean Corals]

I would say you have it in too little or too much flow, the tangs will be pecking at algae build up on it, so I suspect its in too low a flow?

Also I wouldn't feed as much cyclo as that! I feed a level one of those blue spoons that come in a salifert kit & thats on a quite heavily stocked filter feeding tank!

Shelton.

Thats the thing its got no algae on it at all!! I cant understand why they have bothering it. How much water do you mix it in??

Cheers

Paul

Thats a ton to much to feed, that amount should feed your tank 20 times or more.

I'd rather feed it to much then to little!!! And there in no info on the can to say how much i should use!

[Shultz]

Thats the thing its got no algae on it at all!! I cant understand why they have bothering it. How much water do you mix it in??

Cheers

Paul


I must admit I got rid of my flame angel as it wouldn't leave certain corals alone... it might come down to a choice between certain corals & certain fish I'm affraid :(

I normally put one of those blue spoons worth in a 10ml syringe, draw up to full with tank water, leave for 10 mins... give a good shake (finger over end!) & then squirt a few drops worth into the tank, give that 10mins & corals open up then I squirt the rest in along the tank so everything should get some as the streams blow it around...

Shelton.

[KeithM]

Storm,

Is your D. nodulifera mounted properly? from the photos, it looks like its just laying down on the rocks. IME, they like to be mounted properly in a spot with good flow.

The other issue is with food density. You can't blow loads of food over the coral and expect it to open up immediately and take the food. IMO, food for ALL azoox corals needs to be fed slowly and over a long period of time. IF food densities are too high some corals will just shut down. Try smaller multiple feedings throughout the day...it can take the coral a few days to get used to feeding...

[Kreeger1]

Thats the thing its got no algae on it at all!! I cant understand why they have bothering it. How much water do you mix it in??

Cheers

Paul



I'd rather feed it to much then to little!!! And there in no info on the can to say how much i should use!

feeding to much is bad, it chokes the coral, they don't feed when over fed for some reason.

[KeithM]

feeding to much is bad, it chokes the coral, they don't feed when over fed for some reason.

agreed - little and often is the key

Storm, you also can't go by what it says on the can...the can doesn't know what tank you have and what kind of animals you keep ;)

[dendro982RC]

I'v added the Cyclopeeze twice now and nothing has happen any idea's??

What i did was i added a half a tea spoon to about 500ml of water mixed it up then with a syringe i blow it gently around the coral. I did this about 3 times per 300ml. I did not turn of the power heads which thinking about it i prob should have!! Anyway only about 5 polops came out and they only came out about a mill or 2. Since then i did the same thing 2or 3 days later and nothing at all happend
Could be angel, bothering it (can't say - none of my fish bothered them), but if your filtration is able to handle the pinch of cyclop eeze 3x a day, I would rather continue adding food into the water, and wait for polyps to open. I would estimate time for opening - within 3 days.

Amount - 1/6 teaspoon for a small tank (10g/38 l) and 1/4 teaspoon for a bigger tank - 90g/340 l. If filtration cleans this fast - in less, than 15 min, and couldn't be turned off, then just add food again. It will create certain density of the food. Like container feeding for a sun coral.

While it will not help you, but here is what worked for me.
Repeatedly, and once - for a corals, neglected in temporary storage container to the stage of losing all covering tissue with polyps over some parts of skeleton (this is how I do know, how skeleton looks like).

After noticing, I moved them in the small tank and started to feed.
Watched, how fast the food was removed by filtration.
Started to add more food - again, it was removed too fast.
Now turning off filtration for maybe 40 min, the pump/filter could be put on timer.
Repeating this 2, preferably 3x a day.

Within two days all diodogorgias (red kind, but have a yellow kind in another tank, no difference in behavior) opened for a feeding.

After starvation period, the opening polyps are smaller, than usual. It make sense to rub the part of Cyclop eeze between fingers - some should be crushed and become smaller in the process.

I'm also adding ZoPlan (different sizes, much smaller, dried crustaceans) for a variety. Fry food, as Argent HatchFry or Hikari First Bites, added to main food in very small quantities, may help. Anything, that is available for you.

The main food is dried Cyclop eeze, but always with some additions.

Flow: from suitable to LPS - to 40x tank volume per hour.
Mine are in both of this conditions, practically always ready for a feeding.

Your filtration should be able to handle this amount of food - the dried food is easier removed by skimming or filtering, than frozen (IMHE).

[Ocean Corals]

Ok thanks for all the info guys :)

I will add little and often, and see how it gets on over the next few days

Thanks again

Paul