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Red Finger Gorgonian

8K views 16 replies 6 participants last post by  connorp 
#1 ·
I picked one up at my lfs today. I wouldn't have bought it accept I am tired of seeing them buy corals and letting them waste away in there tanks. Every coral they have purchased has slowly turned into a skeleton. They have a 55g tank, that says reef tank on it, and is lit by 2 40w NO's with a few corals, LR, and some anemones.
They are really nice people but have very little knowledge about reef tanks. (hopefully I can have a nice friendly talk with them soon).

So anyways I bought this red finger and was wondering what is best way to feed it and what should I use
Thanks for any help.
 
#2 ·
Hi Scott;

Lots of current and phytoplankton for these corals. I've had a problem with algae build up with them in the past, so keep the current on them and brush the algae off on occasion if needed. They need to eat a lot being non-photo so they are fairly difficult but they sure can add some nice color.

About 50% of the time they don't come attached to a rock, you can glue them but I've found epoxy works better. Especially after I tried Brian's tip of cutting the flesh away from the "stalk" before placing in the epoxy. (If you don't, the flesh rots and then the "stalk" comes loose from the epoxy.)

~Alice
 
#3 ·
Hi Alice, I mounted it in the middle of the tank and it is getting alot of varied current from my tsunami. What brand of phytoplankton do you recomend and what is the best way of feeding it? (turkey baster, suringe?) Also how long should it take for the polyps too come out? I only saw a few when it was at the LFS.

This is a very nice peice, about 9" high by about 7" wide, so hopefully it comes too.
 
#4 ·
Scott,

I use DT's phytoplankton because I have it readily availabe but www.brineshrimpdirect.com carries a freeze-dried version as does ESV (I can't find their link just now.) Personally, I like the DT's because it's a live culture. The freeze-dried keeps a lot longer though. Feed the phyto per directions but rather than just letting it loose in the water column, use the baster or syringe to squirt it right on the coral when the polyps are out (generally before or after the lights are on.) I fed mine in the AM before the lights came on so the rest of the corals in the tank could get some of the benefits of the phyto too. These corals seem to take longer than average to adjust, give it a little extra time. I hope it does well for you! For the record, I tried to prop mine and the experiment didn't turn out too well


~Alice
 
#16 ·
Amphimedon compressa sold as red sponge



From researching other posts, I know Spanky has left the building a few years back.

I'm still learning a lot from his posts and hope he someday returns!

Can anyone shed a little more light on Amphimedon compressa being poisonous to your tank?

Searching Images on Google shows one of our LFS gets this, or something nearly identical to it, on a regular basis. Sold as "red sponge" $19.99

Thanks,
Matt
 
#15 ·
Hi Scott, FWIW, these gorgonians appreciate zooplankton, and any meaty foods. I have an orange Diodogorgia and it readily consumes whole frozen brine shrimp, as well as minced prime reef, and other meaty foods, and even flake. They are easy to feed, they just need to be fed often.
HTH, Dan
 
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