GIONOPORA CORAL

[beaver]

Hi Reefers,

As above...I remember bro Ian Toh keeps a Gionopora tank? Thanks in advance

[iantoh]

hi there bro,

ill try to give you some tips that i found out in my time from keeping gonios tomm ya. really got to sleep now.

cheers,

ian

[sphinx]

Got this Link somewhere

[arcanehacker]

YEah.. LCK 110 got nice yellow gonio.. bought one yesterday

[monpire]

Bro, how much you paid for your yellow goniopora?

[colinsoon]

can PM me the price too...?

[iantoh]

Hi there bro Beaver,

If you can, it might help to post some pictures of your gonio colony ya, as that helps with identification, and might allow other bros to better give you tips and what not.

i used to have a goniopora specific tank, though i tore that down after uni because it was too time consuming to maintain whilst working, as i used to feed lots of phyto daily, and had to clean the glass sides daily too as a result, and there werent foods like reefroids or DT's oyster eggs back then to make things easier.

To begin with, Gonioporas generally prefer slow to moderate flow. The best guage of appropriate flow levels can be discerned by observing the polyp extension of the colony. Your goniopora colony should be plump and seemingly swollen when extended, and its tentacles should sway gently as opposed to flopping from side to side. You can try it out in different flow conditions to see whats best.

one special mention about flow though. in the ocean, flow varies due to the tides, and lots of corals are given periods of low flow and high flow through the course of a day. For gonioporas, this is important as the coral's tentacles grow out on all sides in a semi-spherical fashion (the branching columna and pandoraensis sp ones are slightly different), so flow needs to reach even to the base areas of the coral inorder to allow the coral to respirate and expel wastes, etc. To this end, its best not to bury the base of the gonio in the sand, but to leave it just seated above the sand bed.

Very often, people describe LPS type corals as requiring higher nutrient levels in the water, but this is a misconception brought about by our various definitions of nutrients. nutrients may refer to organic food particles and zooplanktonic and phytoplanktonic organisms abound in the water column, but it also commonly refers to such parameters as nitrates, phosphates, dissolved organics, etc. gonioporas and other LPS corals may be more tolerant of higher nitrates and phosphates, but by no means do they require or do better in such conditions of compromised water quality.

When people say that gonios require higher nutrient levels in the water, it refers to nutrients in the form of food particles. gonioporas are photosynthetic, but they are not able to meet their carbon budget solely through photosynthesis (that is, they cannot meet their minimum nutrition requirements through photosynthesis). As such, they need to feed in tandem with photosynthesizing.

In nature, gonioporas are found in a variety of reef locations, from tide pools and sheltered lagoons, to reef flat and reef front habitats, depending on species. Typically, lots of gonios are found in areas where phytoplankton count in the water is very high, and excised gut tissue of the coral has shown high ingestion levels of phytoplankton and zooplanktonic material below the order of 90microns or so (if i remember correctly). So feeding in a captive environment is necessary.

if there is a spot in your tank where your fish like to poo, placing the goniopora in that area might benefit the coral because there is alot of undigested food in fish poo, and it has been suggested that this benefits gonio sp. corals. Reefroids and Dt's oyster eggs are superb foods for gonios too.

With regards to lighting, do not keep the colony too close to a very intense light source. if you have a 150w mh bulb, a rough guage might be to place the colony about a feet from the bulb? its easy to tell when lights are too strong as gonios will tend to bleach should light levels be too intense, and also show shorter tentacle extension.

well, i hope that helps. heres a few articles that i found really helpful:

The Care and Propagation of Goniopora,

Justin Credabel, from Reefkeeping Magazine:

A fantastic article about gonioporas, explaining their nutritional needs and propagation techniques.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/20...nftt/index.php

Captive husbandry of Goniopora, spp. with remarks about the similar genus Alveopora,

Julian Sprung, from Advanced Aquarist Magazine:

An in-depth look into the captive care requirements of Goniopora sp. corals

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issu...002/invert.htm

The Successful Aquarium Culture of Goniopora Species,

Justin Credabel, from Advanced Aquarist Magazine:

Another informative article by Justin on useful husbandry and propogation tips for Goniopora sp. corals.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2005/10/aafeature2

cheers,

ian

[jervismun]

thanks!

[jacobus]

wow ! thanks for all the great links and info bro ian !

any tips on healing a injured gonio?

ppl viewing this thread : want to start a gonio lovers club ??

[jervismun]

wow ! thanks for all the great links and info bro ian !

any tips on healing a injured gonio?

ppl viewing this thread : want to start a gonio lovers club ??

I already have 4 pieces of Gonio: Red, Pink (not recovering after Big Mama's attack), Green, Lime Green... hehe I'm qualified to be a member of the Gonio Lovers Club!!!

[jacobus]

i only have 2 ... 1 green 1 pink .... many more to come ... i have a dream ... my coming upgrade shall be a GONIO TANK !

[jervismun]

i only have 2 ... 1 green 1 pink .... many more to come ... i have a dream ... my coming upgrade shall be a GONIO TANK !

Wah bro... nice! Gonio is extremely beautiful lor... I've seen Iantoh's... I might start a new tank too... doesn't have a concept yet... maybe a Sun Tank

[iantoh]

hi there guys,

cool to hear of so many gonio lovers. hahaha.. thats a weird term.

Has anybody thought of trying out a dendronepthya sp (cauliflower) species tank? im thinking, with oyster eggs and arcti pods and reefroids available now, it could be sustainable, plus softies are cheap, and the tank would be super colourful. dreamy man.

[beaver]

Wah, didn't know that my thread will start so much interest. Thanks a lot bro Ian for the comprehensive info!

Personally, I find Gonio to be one of the most beautiful corals available but I've heard that they will usually deteriorate in captivity after a while, so I want to make sure I provide the best conditions for them!

[wonder]

Hi Ian,

Agree that cauliflower is very colorful but it seems to be the most difficult coral so far (to me).

Is there any tank/thread that can keep more than a year, please share i'm very interested to keep one.

Got myself a yellow gonio as well but it is not doing well as it was already injured when i got it. So, hofefully the strong flow can prevent the diseases from spreading further

[beaver]

Where can I get yellow and pink gonio? Dun recall seeing pink ones b4 leh

[beaver]

Got this Link somewhere

Great link! Thanks!

[jacobus]

bit off topic but recently i added daphnia in my coral diet and my cauliflower is extremely happy about it ... fully open almost all the time ... rather than being on and off ..

[beaver]

What is the gonio normal behaviour? It is supposed to be opened the whole day? (Of course with the exception of night time). Thanks

[iantoh]

hi there bro,

gonios should show great tentacle extension throughout the course of the day when the lights are on. If there arent critters to disturb the coral, they sometimes even stay semi extended even in the dark.

[beaver]

hi there bro,

gonios should show great tentacle extension throughout the course of the day when the lights are on. If there arent critters to disturb the coral, they sometimes even stay semi extended even in the dark.

hmmm...the tentacles of my gonio is not extended very much, even with the lights on. But I notice that there is a atipsia (did i spell correctly?) looking thing attached at its base. Will it affect the gonio?

[tivoli]

yo beaver,

get rid of the aiptisia. it will irritate/sting your gonio.

[beaver]

yo beaver,

get rid of the aiptisia. it will irritate/sting your gonio.

I think it's not disturbing the gonio. It's a tiny one at the base of the coral.

The gonio is fully extended now

[iantoh]

great looking gonio bro beaver. looks like your flow conditions are just right. do try out the reefroids and oyster eggs or what not ya.

cheers,

ian

[ong2ah]

great looking gonio bro beaver. looks like your flow conditions are just right. do try out the reefroids and oyster eggs or what not ya.

cheers,

ian

bro, where to get reefroids and oyster eggs??? Whats the price like? Btw i juz got a goni also... not those extending type... k goni take in zooplankton and liquid 5-in-1 aquapharm coral?