Gorgonian Question

[stresco]

I have a Red Finger Gorg that the tips of where it was snipped are turining dark brown. It looks like the tips have been burned off. Is this a natural part of the healing process? Is is in too much light? I have it situated in the bottom right corner of the tank so it is getting plenty of flow. Should i be feeding it? If i need to direct feed it, what would you suggest i get for it?

[reefrunner69]

Need to see a pic, it sounds like one of the non-photosynthetic gorgs, but really need a pic to be sure. It's been a long time since I've fragged a gorg (****, that sounds nasty) and to be honest I can't remember what the healing process looked like, but black seems more a sign of necrosis than healing.

[stresco]

I dont have the digital camara so i have no pic to post. All that I could find on the web about necrosis pertianed to Acrophor (SP) and did not look like this. This is a dark brown coloration on the tips of the branches where it was snipped (I think its where it was snipped). If if is necrosis, will it subside? Can i help it along?

Sounds like necrosis to me as well. Best solution might be to "snip" the dieing parts off and then dip them in an iodine solution to seal the wound. That should eliminate further necrosis.

Red gorgnians are primarily filter feeders as well. If the polyps are white they are filter filters. If the polyps are brown they are photosynthetic. Make sure it gets plenty of TLC feedings if a filter feeder and kept out of direct light. If any algae forms on the gorg stems it can clog the polyp pores and start the necrosis again.

Cheers
Steve

[loganizzi]

I just fragged a brown feather gorg about a week ago. The coral body is white, and the internal stem (or whatever its called) is brown. The cut portions are already starting to heal and as they heal over the healed portion is white, same as the coral body. Is what you are seeing just the internal stem portion before it has had a chance to heal?

Check out this site for some good step-by-step for fragging gorgs.

http://www.wisconsinreefsociety.org/dave.html

[stresco]

I'm not sure logan. I didnt frag this Gorg, i got it as part of my order from SeaCrop. Steve, and Kevin, i am gonna see if i can get the camara tonight and take a pic. This Gorg has white Polyps so it is a filter feeder. What is TLC (TENDER LOVING CARE)? I feed the tank every other day, with home made mush that included blended assorted fish, squid, clams, scallops, shrimp, and Formula One, and Two foods along with some SeaVeggies and Garlic Guard. Should the Gorg be in a shadow of some rocks?

Unless extremely fine, the blender mush will not be that effective at feeding the gorg. You also need to be mindful of water quality. Overfeeding the tank to satisfy the gorg will end up fouling the water. You will find that zooplankton as well as live phytoplankton will have much more impact as it is extremely fine and will be carried to the gorg rather than past it due to the foods weight in the water flow.

Turning off the skimmer for and hour or so after introducing the foods will also help the foods stay in concentration long enough for the gorg to get it's necessary nutrition. No more than 3x per week should be fine. If you start noticing increases in the algae concentrations in the tank itself cut back to 2x/week.

Always keep filter gorgonians out of direct light to help prevent algae build up, shading without obstructing it is best. You must still allow it to get ample water flow though.

Cheers
Steve

[stresco]

Steve, thanks for the advice. I forgot to add that i included DTs to the blender mush when i made it. I know that since i had to freeze it, the phyto is no longer live, so I target feed DTs on Fridays. I didnt think to turn off the skimmer when i feed though, so i will try that as well as moving the gorg to a more shaded area.

[stresco]

I moved the Gorg to the far left bottom of the tank, which is the darkest part of the tank last night. I noticed that the small rock this frag is mounted on was burried into the sand bed a little and when i dug it out to move it, it has the same brown discoloration on it where the sand was covering it.

[stresco]

After taking a very close look at this little Gorg, i am thinking it may be too late to snip the dying araes. It is suffering from stripping on the middle of the extened stem, as well as at the base and the tips. If i was to snip off all the stripped areas, i would be left with a stem about 1" or less. Is there any other way i can help this little guy?

Other than possibley fragging the healthy areas and hoping they do not succumb to the necrosis, I can't think of a way... sorry

loganizzi has provided a link above that gives step by step info on how to frag the gorg. Good Luck!

Cheers
Steve