"Gono-euphoria"

[valexia]

Okay, i admit it, i bought one cause it was cheap....
BUT>>>>it's doing amazing in my little 20 hex<<<<<
the things tentacles are out about 5 inches, and the thing i swear is growing...there are tons of new little tentacles now.
My water in that tank is full of organics, i do my weekly maintenence on it and dose my Kalk. mix daily etc..etc...
I would LOVE to show a picture, but i only have a camera, no web site...so i am not sure how to...
Anybody ever have luck with these?
Anybody?
I have false hope now...but maybe?
Please don't fry me for getting this thing, it wasn't happy where it was...cause it was closed when i purchased it...
(ps, it wasn't from the store i work at...i only carry easy stuff)

Tips? its green with rosy highlights.
and the size of a football field in there.
thanks!

[JennM]

Had a good discussion about these with Dana Riddle last year. The key seems to be in Omega 3 fatty acids. (Although research is ongoing!) Specifically, he and I discussed Cyclop-Eeze as I asked him if he'd ever used the stuff. He hadn't but he'd read a good deal about it and he seemed to think there was a connection between a complex chain of fatty acids found in Goniopora sp., and also found in the Cyclop-Eeze. I had one (goni) that was a "surprise" in a shipment and have kept it going for about a year on the stuff - when I cut back on feeding a bit, it began to recede (surprise surprise... NOT!), although it's still hanging in after almost 18 months, I'm not holding my breath on it, but I've ramped up feedings again.

My main concern in a 20 would be water quality over the long term, if you are feeding the heck out of the Goni, other corals might not take too kindly to the "lagunal" water...

HTH

Jenn

[squid]

You're gonna have to keep it in a spot in the tank that has good water movement. Algae's tend to like to grow on them and they can suffocate (?) because of it.

[valexia]

thanks for the tips, i am feeding, about three times a week, fish load is one small chromis damsel, tank is over a year old, and the other corals are a star polyp and some assorted polyp frags.
This thing is growing, is that possible so fast? its been three weeks...
strange too, the tentacles are about five inches long now!! its litteraly quadrupled in size!!!!!
wha?
please inform me this things doing better than i thought it could, or am I still living in the dream world?
thanks ...

[wasabi]

i dont want to rain on your parade , every goniopora i have ever seen or owned(i made the mistake too) has blossomed and expanded the first three months and then receeded and died within 6. ive heard of people keeping them a year or longer but they are few and far between. my guess would be somewhare in the neighborhood of one out of 500 keeps a goniopora alive for a year, alveopora is a different story they can be succesfully kept and look very similar. good luck. hopefully you'll only give them one try and join the never again club.

[hamburglar]

I've got a red one going on 3 years in my tank. I don't do any special feeding to the tank. I just feed flake food and a frozen blender mush the LFS makes. It does get good water circulation and the tank is almost algae free. I have noticed no growth however.

Just offering my personal experience.

[valexia]

i guess i will keep my fingers crossed and keep doing what i am doing.
Only time will tell if this thing is truely happy. it is rose colored on the base with green highlights.
Wasabi-this will be the only one i try....i feel bad i even bought it...but i couldn't let it die where it was.
I wanted to give it a chance.
lets hope the monster keeps happy.
I had to take a sebae clown out because he was thrilled there was something frilly to frolic in...it seemed to really bug it.

[MontanaRocknReefer]

Yeah clowns are not a good thing for flower pot corals!

[Doug1]

Hey Jenn, was this a personal conversation with Dana? I mean at club meeting, or via computer? What I am looking for is references, articles, links, anything to add to the data base, thanx

[uurt]

Both my bro and I made the mistake approx a year ago of getting gonis. Mine did well, grew lots of new tentacles. His didn't so we put it in my tank. It did do better, for awhile. They did eventually start to die. I now have 2 pieces of L/R about the size of a half baseball each.
According to Hargreaves, they are very difficult, need strong lighting, and moderate to strong current. They are not fully understood, and IMO, (not a flame) they are better off, until we know more about them, being left in the wild.
Since you have it (and it was going to die apparently anyway), the best you can do is track your progress, what you feed, where in the tank it seems to like the best, etc. That is the best way to help ALL of us to better understand these pretty things.
I would love to have the yellow or red ones that a LFS has, but I'm not going to put out that much$$$$$ for a little understood and very difficult sp.
I do wish you the best, and please do keep us informed of your progress,

JMO, Lee

[JennM]

Originally posted by Doug1
Hey Jenn, was this a personal conversation with Dana? I mean at club meeting, or via computer? What I am looking for is references, articles, links, anything to add to the data base, thanx

It was a personal conversation with Dana, here at the shop, when he was in town last October to see his folks and he spoke to the reef club. He spent a few hours here on a slow Saturday afternoon and I learned a lot. He did not cite specific references, I don't think he remembered where he read it *g*, but we discussed several coral foods available and that one in particular. He said he had not tried it, but we discussed our own personal experience with the stuff, which he found to be interesting. He mentioned something to me in email about being here sometime this summer - (MACNA?) hoping he'll stop by and I can pick his brain some more.

I don't bring in Gonis but I get one occasionally as a surprise or a trade in. Luckily I don't get them as surprises anymore, but I did have a yellow one from a guy who was downsizing his tank from a 210 to a 60 (!!!) I don't know how long he had it, but we're feeding it like mad.

Jenn

[valexia]

It's still going well! Taking the advice and feeding it well...doing my changes as usual too...IT opened up to six inche tentacles...wow....
its a beauty
heres hoping...