- Location
- Flushing, NY
I would say gorgs are closer to softies
I Killed My Phot Gorgonians
- Thread starter LeslieS
- Start date
I would say gorgs are closer to softies
you're right about gorgonias, taxonomy-wise, closer to softies...they're under the subclass octocorallia.
It was just a matter of my opinion in their growth requirements, and their polyps. I should have specified it was a judgment call and not a scientific fact. :headache:
I am waiting for all the dead areas to shed away, then I will clean up what is left of the yellow one (the algae makes it look orange). The flesh is actually eroding underneath the algae leaving little algae casings hanging on the bone. No wonder I couldn't get it off. Also, I have one other gorgonian which I did not take a pic of which has only shed at the tips. He is in a lower flow area so I am waiting to see if he is just taking longer to shed. He does still have a few bright purple spots of algae on him. It looks like coraline. I think the badly damaged ones may have had a darker red coraline on them which is why I thought it was cyano that I just couldn't get off.
On the purple one, should I cut off the exposed skeleton or leave it in case the flesh grows back? Maybe I will do 1/2 each way and see which grows better - If it grows again that is. Still no sign of any polyps.
They are at the top of my tank so they get plenty of light, and I feed the entire tank frozen cyclopeze and dry phyto plankton. I recently started adding frozen marine plankton. (I also feed brine and mysis shrimp for the fish.)
I have had them do this before if there was algae on them, but this time they were not shedding. Not justifying bonehead move. Just want to share info.
I do weekly water changes and do not have any SPS in my tank so my calcium levels are usually OK. I have to admit that I have not checked them in a couple of weeks.
I recently ordered a back issue of Coral magazine which focuses on gorgonians. I am hoping to learn more about them from a scientific point of view rather than observing and guessing. If it sheds and light on my chances for regrowth, I'll let you guys know.
Thanks to everyone for the kind words and good advise.
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Chin up Leslie:hug: , as others stated "We all make mistakes". I made a ducy some years back when I started. I managed to kill a few of my leathers. I had a bad green hair algea problem, someone told me that I could remove the algea off of the corals with a baby toothbrush. So, off I went. Bought a baby toothbrush, and went to work on them. What I ended up doing was poisoning all of them, because stupid me didn't think to use different brush for each individual. Guess what? I learned never to touch one coral with an instrument that I've used on a previous coral. Plus it is easier to keep the algea off of the corals to begin with, then to have to remove it from them.:smile:
Sorry to hear that Leslie, but I think I topped your gorg murder. 
Richard from TampaBay Saltwater gave me a huge, 2 NBA player's handspans purple sea fan with my TBS rock package. Two months into my tank, it began shedding flesh near the tips of all its branches, and that necrosis continued on down the branches. I felt bad just like you, but let me tell you, I felt even worse when I was "trying" to remove the eventually dead gorg from my tank. I had mounted it to a rock w/ epoxy, and lemme tell ya, that stuff is strong! After 15 minutes of guilty twisting and tugging, I finally got it out. Felt like when you try and gather firewood for a campfire, and you can't break a really green branch because it is still bendy.
The tip on their calcium requirements is helpful. My Ca is only at 350 right now. The gorg started its necrosis before I had added any corals, but I haven't started dosing calc and alk yet, and I guess my levels were too low for the gorg from the beginning. (I use regular IO salt, not their Reef Crystals, yet)
I have another, 3-inch tall purple gorg hitchhiker on another rock in my tank, in a high flow area. It looks very healthy; full polyp extension each day. There is a blob of hair algae growing on it's 2-inch neighbor gorg, which I don't understand. How can HA attach to something in such high flow?
Richard from TampaBay Saltwater gave me a huge, 2 NBA player's handspans purple sea fan with my TBS rock package. Two months into my tank, it began shedding flesh near the tips of all its branches, and that necrosis continued on down the branches. I felt bad just like you, but let me tell you, I felt even worse when I was "trying" to remove the eventually dead gorg from my tank. I had mounted it to a rock w/ epoxy, and lemme tell ya, that stuff is strong! After 15 minutes of guilty twisting and tugging, I finally got it out. Felt like when you try and gather firewood for a campfire, and you can't break a really green branch because it is still bendy.The tip on their calcium requirements is helpful. My Ca is only at 350 right now. The gorg started its necrosis before I had added any corals, but I haven't started dosing calc and alk yet, and I guess my levels were too low for the gorg from the beginning. (I use regular IO salt, not their Reef Crystals, yet)
I have another, 3-inch tall purple gorg hitchhiker on another rock in my tank, in a high flow area. It looks very healthy; full polyp extension each day. There is a blob of hair algae growing on it's 2-inch neighbor gorg, which I don't understand. How can HA attach to something in such high flow?
- Location
- Brooklyn, NY
Leslie,
I had the same issues as you with my yellow see fan and the purple gorgonia.
The tips of both corals did loose some flesh and algae grew on them.
I had cut exposed skeletons off to the point of a healthy flesh. Placed both in the high water flow area and they did recuperate after a wile.
Don?t cry and good luck.
I had the same issues as you with my yellow see fan and the purple gorgonia.
The tips of both corals did loose some flesh and algae grew on them.
I had cut exposed skeletons off to the point of a healthy flesh. Placed both in the high water flow area and they did recuperate after a wile.
Don?t cry and good luck.
Attachments
scarf_ace1981
Advanced Reefer
- Location
- San Juan, PR
if it makes you feel better, sealifeflorida has nice cheap gorgs.
don't feel bad. i was so pissed the other day that i had redbugs so i freshwater dipped my sps frags. needless to say the ones i dipped died the next day. o well!
don't feel bad. i was so pissed the other day that i had redbugs so i freshwater dipped my sps frags. needless to say the ones i dipped died the next day. o well!
- Location
- poughquag, ny
gorg
if you want a frag i have some yellow and some plain ole brown also. had for 4 or 5 months now
if you want a frag i have some yellow and some plain ole brown also. had for 4 or 5 months now
scarf_ace1981
Advanced Reefer
- Location
- San Juan, PR
too bad i got my sealife order a couple days ago. i would have got some for you @ no cost.
Leslie, it will all work out. If I dwelt on every assassination attempt I've made in this hobby, I'd be a candidate for a reef witness protection program. Jon, I’m sorry about the dipped frags. For all the care we take, it's still too easy to have a senior moment at the worst time.
Just last week, after making my mandatory $100 weekly donation to NWA, I came home with some snails and a few scarlet reefs for my SW, and some tetras and rainbow praecox for my FW (felt guilty for not really taking care of the FW for so long, as it was so lightly stocked). So, I figure I'll do my acclimation on everyone at the same time. SW guys in Ziploc containers (love those semi-disposable containers), FW bags afloat. As I was doing both at once, I was of course using one bucket to dump the exchange water. I mean, why not, it's just waste and I don't care if I'm throwing away SW and FW water exchanges into the same bucket.
All went well. I picked up the SW crew and put them in their tank. I added the FW guys in my usual way (same for SW fish for the same reasons). I pour the bag contents through a net, catch the fish and add them. I always do this over a bucket in case a fish makes it out of the net so I can easily scoop him out. It keeps the remaining store water out, and I think is less traumatic than mashing around with a net in a floppy plastic bag trying to trap them. Now came the brain fart. I just forgot one detail. The bucket was a FW/SW mix, not just FW exchange water. Well, 2 tetras missed the net. I didn't even really think much of it for the first several seconds while I added their bag mates to the tank.
Then, it hit me. It was mixed water, not just FW they were now swimming around in. I damn near kicked the bucket over reaching in to get them, while pushing my dog's head out from his favorite water source. I scooped them out and threw them into the FW tank (at least I got that part right). They looked confused, but otherwise seemed OK. They ended up doing fine, and I just tell myself all I did was give them a mild SW dip, which was good for them anyway.
Henry
Just last week, after making my mandatory $100 weekly donation to NWA, I came home with some snails and a few scarlet reefs for my SW, and some tetras and rainbow praecox for my FW (felt guilty for not really taking care of the FW for so long, as it was so lightly stocked). So, I figure I'll do my acclimation on everyone at the same time. SW guys in Ziploc containers (love those semi-disposable containers), FW bags afloat. As I was doing both at once, I was of course using one bucket to dump the exchange water. I mean, why not, it's just waste and I don't care if I'm throwing away SW and FW water exchanges into the same bucket.
All went well. I picked up the SW crew and put them in their tank. I added the FW guys in my usual way (same for SW fish for the same reasons). I pour the bag contents through a net, catch the fish and add them. I always do this over a bucket in case a fish makes it out of the net so I can easily scoop him out. It keeps the remaining store water out, and I think is less traumatic than mashing around with a net in a floppy plastic bag trying to trap them. Now came the brain fart. I just forgot one detail. The bucket was a FW/SW mix, not just FW exchange water. Well, 2 tetras missed the net. I didn't even really think much of it for the first several seconds while I added their bag mates to the tank.
Then, it hit me. It was mixed water, not just FW they were now swimming around in. I damn near kicked the bucket over reaching in to get them, while pushing my dog's head out from his favorite water source. I scooped them out and threw them into the FW tank (at least I got that part right). They looked confused, but otherwise seemed OK. They ended up doing fine, and I just tell myself all I did was give them a mild SW dip, which was good for them anyway.
Henry
I ended up cutting back the dead parts and waiting to see if anything would recover.
The purple one is not recovering.
However, if for any reason my gorgonians lose most of their flesh again, I would leave the skeleton. As I said I cut back most of the dead parts, but there was one branch of yellow sea whip that I could not reach. Only 10% of the flesh remained. The skeleton is now about 80% covered. Another yellow sea whip had about 1cm of his tips exposed and they are now covered back up.
The purple one is not recovering.
However, if for any reason my gorgonians lose most of their flesh again, I would leave the skeleton. As I said I cut back most of the dead parts, but there was one branch of yellow sea whip that I could not reach. Only 10% of the flesh remained. The skeleton is now about 80% covered. Another yellow sea whip had about 1cm of his tips exposed and they are now covered back up.
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