Goniopora

[Greg Hiller]

>i know its off track but do you have any thoughts on goniopora?<

Well....I never had any luck with the standard 'ball' style ones that you see in every store, I think these are Goniopora stokesi and G. lobata? Still, the red ones that are in the trade now seem to be reasonably easy to keep. I got one from Ray a while back and I've seen clear evidence of growth. Areas that had no polyps have grown new polyps.

Some folks in the club have fragged their and sold/traded off the babies. While I guess it would be nice to know how to keep the green ones....green is a pretty easy color to come by. I'm satisfied with my red healthy Goniopora (left in the photo, any one know the species on the red ones common in the trade now?) and my green Alveopora next to it.

http://www.greghiller.com/AAA%20Best%20Photos/skunk-clowns-in-alveopora.jpg

[mkeyb]

i wish i could help you there i have tried twice with the greens. one i bought the other was a gift from my fiance. she knew i liked them and got me a replacment after the first died. first one lasted a month second i got to last three months. currently i have a purple one that has been in tank for a month. it will not fully extend but don't look bad at all right now sorry i can't be of any help here lol but i got a newb question how can you tell a Goniopora and Alveopora apart? i think they look alike and about 80% of the time i try to tell the diffrence im wrong lol(at least im told im wrong) whats a sure fire way of distinguishing them apart thanks in advance

[jimmyj7090]

Link to justin credible's article in advanced aquarist;
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2005/10/aafeature2/view?searchterm=None

[this is me]

http://www.pbase.com/this_is_me_999/image/72692535.jpg

The greenish/white one I got from a member and it's been my tank for close to a year now. The red one I got from Bec about 6 months(?) ago and it's growing bigger. I don't know whats the deal is, but you get better luck with the tank raised goni than the wild one. I never had a wild one but from what I heard and read, they all perish away.
I don't feed mine with any special food. Just once in a while, I put some cyclopeeze in the tank but thats mainly for the sps.

[Greg Hiller]

>how can you tell a Goniopora and Alveopora apart?<

Alveopora has 12 'pedals' on a polyp, Gonipora has 24 I believe.

I never feed my Goniopora or Alveopora either.

[this is me]

Yup, goni has 24 pedals and Alve has only 12.

[clamm]

my experience is that the alve is much easier to keep. I had a goni last 4 mths...also got it from ray. It showed great potiential but it actually was too big for the tank. I sold it and I heard that it didn't last long after that.

Bec was able to keep a red one pretty well.

Mine did the best when left alone.

My clownfish irritated mine. to the point that they would run around the bottom, eventually those polyps would die, I would move the peice to the fuge with a mh for recovery. The recovery time seemed fairly short 1 mth or so. I also would add Iodine when in recovery.

[TomD]

I got mine from a club member (Red version) about 4-5 months ago and it has done very well. It was a wild colonie that the person has been succesful with and fragged. I am really surprised by the growth I have seen in the last 3 months. A lot more than I expected.

I had read at one time that adding phyto was crucial, but I stopped after the first month and it has been doing great.

I have it on the sand bed of a 24" tank under 250, 20K's.

[clamm]

Oh I guess i did do some husbandry with this... It I saw it sliming or stringy stuff coming I also made sure I took a baster and blew it off. I didn't use a powerhead as some recommended before. Would it have done it in, who knows.

Just something to consider if you are nursing one.I got mine from a club member (Red version) about 4-5 months ago and it has done very well. It was a wild colonie that the person has been succesful with and fragged. I am really surprised by the growth I have seen in the last 3 months. A lot more than I expected.

I had read at one time that adding phyto was crucial, but I stopped after the first month and it has been doing great.

I have it on the sand bed of a 24" tank under 250, 20K's.

[TomD]

Here was my frag the day I brought it home and then a pic from about 2 months later. The color changed and it grew a good amount. It appears to go on spuirts because it has not grown as much as it did the first 2 months.

I would say Bec did great with hers at the size it grew to.

[naturebatslast]

I just read an article (AA I think) saying iron and manganese dosing was the key to keeping Goni's.

[agent6473]

I also got a red goni frag from bec a while back. Since then it has steadily grown and is now a good size. It seems to be a fairly hardy coral in my tank.

[vinny]

I had a goni. about 6 year's. ago in my 10gl. with pc's lighting.I had it for just over a year and two power failures, one in mid summer and one in winter.I bought it from PJ's on rt.1. The only thing that I can remmember using was TM salt and TM calsium and SeaChem 3 pack not sure what it was.

[reefinghabit]

toad licker i read that article like 6 months ago. i have been following its advice since. my red goni is doing well.

[Mr. Krabs]

I got mine from Bec as well. Mine seem to be just hangin' in there, no polyp loss or growth, but they still extend polyps...

Tom/ agent6473- what kind of flow do you have on your's, and where's the placement under your lights, direct or shadowed?

-Jack

[JeremyR]

There are some other types that can do well too.. some of the branching ones, the encrusting ones.. the purple roundish ones.. pretty much the green ball ones are the most difficult. Pretty unscientific, but that's my experience.

[TomD]

Jack, mine is on the sand bed in a low/med flow area. My tank is 24" deep and I run 2X250 20K's, soon to be Ushio 10K's/VHO.

I don't really ever feed it directly.

Greg, are your clowns always in the coral like that? Do they bother it?

[Greg Hiller]

>Greg, are your clowns always in the coral like that? Do they bother it?<

My skunk clowns move back and forth between the Alveopora and the Goniopora. They also just cruise the tank. Neither coral seems to mind much from what I can see.

>There are some other types that can do well too.. some of the branching ones, the encrusting ones.. the purple roundish ones.. <

Plenty good enough advice for me. Thanks!

[reefinghabit]

i just aquired a small branching style alviopora, i believe cuz it has 12 petals. i have noticed them alvis tuck way inside there sleketon, versus a goniopora. greg i love my red goni. it is a very very slow grower. but its holding well. it has purple balls on the end of the polyp tips. becca in my opinion, had the best looking one ive seen, props to her and all of you who have recieved her frags.

[willray]

I have a green goni that is about 4 yrs old in the sand with a med rotating flow. fragged it into 4 pcs after 2.5 yrs.one frag got infected sold one and still have 2 colonies that are doing great polyps are always extended sweepers are out most of the time and they have doubled in size.Also have a 2 yr old red goni in the rock work about 5" up and in a high rotating flow, an encrusting ?goni on my TBS rock and a yr old very purple alevapora.I feed everything in my tank w a home made goo every other morning including the gonis.Honestly can't say they gonis feed like other corals but they definatly react to the food in a good way. Oh and every once in a while say every2-3 wk I stir the sand bed near them just a little bit.I think the red from Bec was from Bali.

[ReeferMedic]

I've tried 3 wild green "ballish" gonis in the past with no success. I currently have a piece of bec's red goni that has grown about 500% since I got it about 1 year ago. I've had this under 250 de mh, 250 se mh, and T5s. I've never noticed a real difference in the appearance due to lighting. I have a wild purple "ballish goni that I bought about 1 1/2trs ago and is thriving also. This one is also under T5s. In addition to those 2, I have a green "ballish" goni that is a wild acclimated colony. This one was fragged about 9 mos ago and is thriving as well under 400 se Ushios w/Lumen Arc Reflector off to the side a bit.

[reefinghabit]

i am in love with red gonis. i know this sounds like a personal problem. but they are so amazing. i never have luck with yellow or green, but my red goni has been doing great. i was never really impressed by its polyp extention though. does anyone know why, or what causes lack of polyp extension? i had it in the sand bed for about 3 months. i have moved it up to the middle of the tank now. its under 250 watt 10k hqi. i would say the polyps took about 3 months to extend about 1/2"to 3/4".

[Greg Hiller]

Too much flow will cause the polyps to retract. Too little will probably also result in polyp retraction due to really low circulation.

[ReeferMedic]

Here's a pick my red goni. The skeleton has grown to about the size of the disc since the pic was taken.

[reefinghabit]

i tried to take a pic of mine but my camera phone sucks it was blurry. maybe i will try again.

[pvh]

I just got this, can anyone tell me if this is a non photosythesis or not? There is some dead spot will it grow back?

[willray]

non Photosynthesis or not? non and not = same. It is photosynthetic and the spots will recover in time.

[reefinghabit]

from my experience gonis suffer from slime infections. if this is it, u may want to do a fresh water dip or even and iodine dip. if its healthy and conditions are optimul, the coral will recover.the dead holes in the skeleton will never recover. the coral itself will over grow them with new growth.

[pvh]

How do I do a fresh water dip or iodine dip? Never done this before. Thanks.

[reefinghabit]

a fresh water dip is done using any source of fresh water preferably ro/di or dechlorinated tap water. placing the infected coral in the water for about 5-10 mins. or get some lugols solution iodine,from kent marine. 40 drops per gallon. soak the coral about 5-10 mins.this kills any pathogenic bacterial infections and other infectious critters that may be causing the cond.

[TomD]

Considering the sensitivity of some gonis, I would leave it be for now. I guess there are many methods of dipping but I personally only dip softies in F/W.

Good luck with it.