doing a non photosynthetic coral tank, what species?

[CiXeL]

im putting together a 20 gallon fish and non photosynthetic coral tank on the bar between my kitchen and living room.

i already have a tubastrea to put in the tank. i imagine i could also put a black sun in the tank when i acquire one. i intend to spot feed all these animals with a plastic pipette. ive heard there are non photosynthetic gorgonians as well. any others i havent even considered yet?

what species are they and can i find them at a fish store or are they hard to get? this seems an easier tactic for me since the non photosynthetic ones interest me plus the electrical costs of running yet more lighting.

 

[DaisyPolyp]

There are a number of gorgonian species that would look great in a tank like that... may have to use i-net retailers to get them though.

 

[Len]

Alcyonium sp. (Chili corals) is another possiblity.

 

[Unarce]

The Sun Coral (ironic, huh) is fairly hardy if fed well. You'll find them in two color variations, orange (Tubastrea aurea) and black (Tubastraea micranthapad).

Sponges and Tunicates are also good candidates.

 

[CiXeL]

yes im going to get a black one when i see some good growth on my two orange ones. im also going to look into a chili coral, i had killed one years ago when i didnt realize it was non photosynthetic. i was also looking at various gorgonian species and it was talking about how many gorgonians with colored polyps are typically non photosynthetic. i want to get the one with sky blue polyps. i imagine i could get a ton of color in a tank with barely any lighting.

 

[Algae Blenny]

There are also green sun corals, but they are not as common as orange and black. If you go to www.GARF.org they have a whole section on non-photosynthetic corals and how to care for them.