Flowerpot ID

[AdeptDeveloper]

Is this a Goniapora?

I've had it a few months and it's been really healthy as far as I can tell but it's been all retracted the past few days.

I checked my levels and they seem ok. 0.25 ammonia, 0 nitrate, 0 nitrite and 7.8 ph. Could the low ph be a problem? Water temp 76-78.

Have 1 Sally light foot a few snails and a jawfish whose color has also faded slightly. Oh 20 gallon tank.

 

[AdeptDeveloper]

This is what he looks like now.

 

[carey]

Corals and ANY reading of ammonia do not go well together....why do you have ammonia? did you cycle your tank?

 

[Sniperhank]

flowerpots are hard to keep anyway...let alone a tank with ammonia. That thing is pretty much doomed. A minor injury is enough to kill it.

 

[AdeptDeveloper]

I missed a water change this month. Only thing I can think of.

 

[kay-bee19]

As Sniperhank stated, they're very hard to keep; many perish within their first year year or perhaps two in captivity (from what I understand the difficulty in keeping these is linked to a dietary requirement that is challenging to provide or replicate in captivity).

What that means is they'll do seemingly fine for awhile (several months to a year) and then commence a downward spiral health-wise. The presence of ammonia is definately not helping.

 

[AdeptDeveloper]

Hmmm. The lfs which is well respected here said nothing about difficulty keeping them. It was expensive too.

We've been feeding it micro plankton as best we can.

 

[kay-bee19]

I have a great respect for those hobbyists who can keep these alive for 3 years or more.

 

[Sniperhank]

My LFS is pretty decent too. I kept freshwater tanks off of them for over a decade and I bought my dog off of them as well...but that doesn't stop them from thinking flowerpots are easy. I don't do anything without my smartphone when it comes to making a purchase. Always do research before you buy.

 

[AdeptDeveloper]

After testing again, my Ammonia might not be bad anyhow. It's hard to tell on the color code, but it might be just the slightest bit over 0ppm, but definitely closer to 0 than 0.25ppm. Could it be the microplankton that I'm giving it? Other posts say to give it oyster eggs. Today the arms are fluttering around, but they just aren't stretched out like they have been the past few months. I've also heard that prefer the sandbed, but I have him on the rock, because our Sally Lightfoot messes with him when I put the plankton near him. I have to figure out how to separate them when I feed them, because the crab doesn't mean harm, but he loves that stuff like my cat and catnip.

 

[Sniperhank]

When my crabs try to take mysis away from my duncans, I throw a couple decoy pieces and then feed.

 

[AdeptDeveloper]

Ok, so I adjusted my pH and my Goniapora seems back to life again. I also improved on my method for spot feeding him and today and yesterday he seems happy.

I've heard anything like feed him every day to once a week. Does anybody know the correct answer?