How to keep Blue Sea Fan?

[Terryz_]

Anyway just to be on the safe side, I will be selling the larger fan to bro Terryz, collection tomorrow. This way, I can focus on just 1 instead of 2. I really hope I can keep it healthily

I hope i can too... lol..

I have phyto and GP in my mixed food... I think should be okaie...

Thanks for letting me have it...

[FuEl]

Yes that is a very old photo, back when I was fragging these guys. Small pieces are actually easier to care for compared to large ones. Simply because these guys grow according to their natural conditions in the wild. So most of the time large specimens fail because their flow conditions cannot be met. If you notice one side of the seafan is concave, it's a good bet that you should have that side facing the current.

[Qxnviolet]

Fuel, your fan looks great!~ Any tips on lighting requirements?

[iantoh]

hi there bro qxn,

keen to hear bro fuel's take on this, but from my understanding, sea fans arent particular about lighting- they grow on both lighted and shaded areas in the wild (just that they are outcompeted in lighted areas by hermatic or photosynthetic corals), so where they appear to dominate is in areas where such photosynthetic corals dont take hold. their main requirements being flow (primarily laminar) and prey availability.

bro fuel, i wasnt thinking about it earlier, but rotifers are really quite ideal for them, and it no wonder yours blossomed and grew the way they did, due to your TLC.

cheers,

ian

[Qxnviolet]

Hrmz, thanks for the repy ian, don't really understand the part about laminar flow. And oh, do you think dosing Marine Snow is enough to meet their minimum feeding requirement?

[Elune]

Dozing rotifers sure is good~

one note abt water flow though... too strong a water flow is also not good for ur seafan esp if the polyps n specimen is large (simply put, it wun have time to eat if food is swept past it too fast). small specimen is easier to manage too.

The link provided by bro Ian provides a good read on sea fan! thanx!

oh, and bro Fuel, thats a nice seafan u have~ choi manz!

erm, also, bro jervismun, regarding my thread, its an old old old thread of my previous pico (which has since de-commissioned). I have not post any picture of my seafan at all.

Colinsoon: Hondaker looking for one too~ keke, i tempted him to get one... happy finding a good specimen~

[jervismun]

Thanks for all the info... now I am much confident in keeping this beautiful specimen. Will continuously monitor it and once I notice an improvement, will update you guys.

[FuEl]

Thanks iantoh, just thought I should share my experiences since I managed to propagate these guys. The rotifers I used in the past were marketed by LiquidLife USA and they were dead concentrates. As a result my water probably turned into a nutrient soup. Live rotifers should work better and would surely preserve your water quality better.

I think what iantoh meant by laminar flow is current moving primarily in one direction, but not in the form of a jet like those produced by powerheads. It's more like high volume, low velocity flow like those produced by Seios or Tunzes.

These guys don't require light and the presence/absence of light does'nt really bother them. Just don't place them in well-lit areas if you have algae problems, especially diatoms. Such algae will slowly smother seafans if they are allowed to take hold.

[Qxnviolet]

Oh okay, thanks for the reply. I really like this fan and hope it'll do well. Any particular brand of phyto to recommand and estimate price?

[jervismun]

Oh okay, thanks for the reply. I really like this fan and hope it'll do well. Any particular brand of phyto to recommand and estimate price?

I bought Aquaz Phytoplankton from Reborn for $10

Just now bought Marinium Zooplankton from AM for $9.80

[Qxnviolet]

Hrmz, do they come in liquid form? Saw some Kent phyto and zooplanton retailing at $30++ per vial.... So exp....

[iantoh]

hi there guys,

cool discussion. when i can get a enough rotifers to start a culture, ill be sure to try the blue seafans as they really are gorgeous.

as for the laminar flow, yeah, bro fuel just about nailed it. basically, it just refers to a primarily uni-directional flow with emphasis on high volume movement rather high velocity.

do show us more pics ya guys- be glad to learn of more success stories for these gorgonians.

cheers,

ian

[FuEl]

More pics? Ok last pic. Nice things come in small packages.

[jervismun]

Oh man!!! Wow! How many diff species you got there? They are so colourful... I might set up new tank next time with sea fans covering the floor bed like yours, lol.

[jervismun]

This is how I feed my Blue Sea Fan... a mixture of Marinium Zooplankton + Argent Cyclop-eeze! I can see that the polyps are feeding as they open and close for many times.

[jervismun]

What u guys think? Better looking than before right? Of course... nothing compares to bro Fuel's sea fan

[iantoh]

fantastic polyp extension bro jervismun! lovely!

btw guys, when i was at irwana last thursday, i saw lots of blue gorgonians.

cheers,

ian

[FuEl]

It's getting there jervismun! Just remember to feed daily. Small frequent feedings over the day is better than a big feeding once a day.

[jervismun]

It's getting there jervismun!    Just remember to feed daily.  Small frequent feedings over the day is better than a big feeding once a day.

Oh dear this Blue Sea Fan is very labour intensive... need to add this chore to my maid's list of services, lol. Just kidding only lah, apparently I'm the only maid at home

[bluezing]

damn nice man!

[jervismun]

damn nice man! 

Thanks bro!

My baby Blue Tang was spotted "kissing" my Sea Fan... any reported cases of BT eating Sea Fans?

[iantoh]

cute tiny blue tang there bro!

its probably just kissing up some algae that is on the surface of your seafan so dont worry too much about it. i doubt itll develop an appetite for the gorgonian.

[FuEl]

Yep. Sea fans don't really taste good. Don't ask how I know.

[jervismun]

Just an update... after 2 weeks in my tank the Blue Sea Fan is still looking very healthy. I target feed all polyps once every 2 days using Marinium Zooplankton and Argent Cyclop-Eeze. I even notice some growth at the top portion... need another week to confirm for sure.

[Terryz_]

Full shot

Medium close up

Close up