White Gorgonian

[jorcutt]

Curious if anyone has ever seen this white gorgonian before. When it first came in, I thought it was somehow bleached or something, but I've had it for about 6 months now, and just fragged it into 5 this size which are all doing really well. I've never seen anything like it before or since.

[reefrunner69]

I've never seen a white one, to me that would suggest that it is non-photosynthetic, but from the pic it is very similar to a Carribean photosynthetic gorg. Pseudoplexaura sp.

[jorcutt]

Sorry, I should have given a more detailed description. I don't think it's a Pseudoplexaura, Plexaurella, or Plexaura sp. for a couple of reasons. (1) I believe all gorg. in these two genuses have more retractile polyps. That's the oddest thing about this one. The polyps do retract...but only so far. When the piece is closed up it's still kind of barbed. (2) I think these are all rather "meaty" or thicker varieties. Or at least the central stalk or trunk is usually thick. This one is very thin...about 3mm thick. Here's another pic...as close up as my camera will allow me to zoom in with any degree of clarity. Thanks for the help! Oh, and yeah, I'm pretty sure it's non-photosynthetic, but I'm not positive. Ever since being fragged, the polyps are rarely closed, though. Definitely growning faster, too.