Has anyone had success keeping a Flower Pot?

[RazerCorals]

I am having difficulty keeping this thing alive. I have tried all sorts of spots in my aquarium. Anyone have any sugestions? All the other corals are doing fine. I keep my frogspawn a good distance away from it so it is not stung. Does anyone have any pics of there flower?

[fishfreek]

Watchman,

I fear your flower pot will go the way of thousands of flowerpots in the past. Depending on what type of flower pot coral you have the care requriements could go from 'unknown' to very little is known.

How many appendages does the flower pot have from the central stalks?

Should be either 12 or 24.

[Pineapple House]

Actually, Alveopora has 12 tentacles per polyp.
Goniopora has 24 tetacles for polyp

Alveopora is usually known for having a branching form, while the goniopora has a rounder shape.

Alveopora is actually much more easy-to-keep, says 'Aquarium Fish 2002 addition, October. Reef Aquarist Section'

I have yet to been able to keep a goniopora for more than 3 months. I've given up completely after killing 2 goniopora :(

PH =)

[Zack]

OMG ph you sure have killed a lot!!!

[Pineapple House]

OMG ph you sure have killed a lot!!!
Are you serious? :roll: I don't think '2' would be considered 'alot.' The first one was bought because I was curious about keeping them, and 'thought' I could keep one alive...died 2 1/2 months later :( The next one was bought after my lighting upgrade- died in about 3 months :(

PH =)

[Zack]

well yeah i do!!! IMO

[chris420]

this coral is one of those things that should stay in the wild. it is one of the ardest corals to care for if not the hardest not many people can keep these alive for long,Chris

[RazerCorals]

Ok I think I finally found a place where it likes. It actually came out a little bit yesterday!

[Zack]

good luck and keep us updated

[HoopsGuru]

These corals are typically found in lagoons in the wild.....lagoons normally have a large amount of dissolved organics in the wild. You will need to try your best to duplicate this. If you have a skimmed system, you are probably taking out too much of the organics and this coral won't have much of a chance. I have personally consulted on a flower pot doing extremely well in an unskimmed tank for about 4 months now. It is placed in an area of low current and moderate lighting as well.

[Pineapple House]

I personally don't think the intesnsity of the lighting has as much affect on the corals survival as the water column does.

Hey hoops, if it wouldn't be too much trouble, could you post some of the tank specs for future reference? Thanks

PH =)

[HoopsGuru]

Sure thing:

40g Tank
2x96w PC lighting
DSB
Penguin 125 HOB running empty, 2 x powerheads 150gph

There is also an interesting thread in Borneman's coral forum on RC labeled "Tang Bombs" that gives a new look at possible foods for these corals.

I still don't think they should be sold.....but we are approaching at least a better understanding of what their environment is like in the wild and how to reproduce it in our tanks.

[Zack]

all we can hope is that the more info out there, better care us reefers can do!

[HoopsGuru]

Thought everyone should read this, Julian Sprung wrote an article in this issue on goni husbandry.

Advanced Aquarist (http://www.advancedaquarist.com/)

[Pineapple House]

wow, that's very interesting hoops! Good find :-D

PH =)

[HoopsGuru]

Really good thread on Aqualink as well:
Goniopora (http://www.aqualinkwebforum.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=47;t=000487)

Gives a little incite into the type of system that seems to have some success.

[Zack]

hmm, nice looking system!

[HoopsGuru]

Well, it only shows the gonia from several angles over a period of weeks. :roll: The point of the thread is to show that skimmerless systems are having the best results with them right now.

[Pineapple House]

wow hoops, just finished reading that thread, very interesting! :-D

PH =)

[plum70rt]

:D Hi all I have had this Gonipora for 4 months now, has grow since I got it, I target feed it a seafood mix once aweek and Dts in tank every 3 days

[plum70rt]

also as was mentioned they like dirty or lets say high nutrient water, thats why they tend not to do well in our tanks its too clean for them, I think the key is to keep it well fed , in moderate flow, lets see how long I can go with this one, also as a side note I just joined FMAS , Florida Marine Aquarium society, Julian Sprung is a member, I cant wait to ask him questions in person :)

[Zack]

wow very cool

[HoopsGuru]

Great picture Plum, best wishes for continued success!

[Johnny]

I think everyone who lives in a place called Coral Springs should have a reef tank. :lol: :lol: :lol: That is cool 8) 8) 8)

[Pineapple House]

Great looking Goniopora! Good luck with it!

PH =)

[drscheck]

PLum,

Nice looking coral, but I noticed that you have a red species of Goni. And it has been documented that the Red species is far superior in hardiness than the other colorations. So it does not surprise me at all that you are having luck with this coral.

I tried a Yellow Goni once and failed miserably, so there won't be another in my tank until we figure out how to propegate these .

[ERIC]

Had a goniopora once . It rolled a seven. Meanwhile, my recent alveopora did much better.I recently traded it for a fox coral, but to the best of my knowledge it's still doing fine.

[nihonjin_anemone]

Ahh..of course, the goniporia. Well, when i first set up my smaller tank a year or more ago, I got the little "oh! gonoporia are great for beginner tanks!" talk. Maybe he thought "ahh..hes only 14..hes stupid"...well..i was,and i bought it..actually though, it was a yellow goni, but i kept it alive for half a year or more. But, I cane home one weekend from being out of town,and it was just a base with goo on it. So, I think i won't venture back into that type of coral. Sadly, i still hear pet store owners claiming that it is easy to keep.

[RazerCorals]

Mine is still just slowing dying.

[Zack]

how Watchman?

[RazerCorals]

I have given up on it. It is slowly getting this hole that is expanding everyday across the coral.

[Chryocon]

why would you give up.....that takes the fun out of the challenge, have you been directly feeding it enough....? I don't wan't to sound mad, but if you where it, would you like some one who could at least try to save you to let you die?

[RazerCorals]

I've tried with it like forever. It just doesn't like me at all. Its been in low and high current. Feed different foods. DIfferent levels of light placement.

[Chryocon]

I guess you gave it your best effort then...have you tried directly feeding it using the covering method......?

[RazerCorals]

I'm not familar with the covering method. I've tried direct feeding with a small baster.

[Chryocon]

For the covering method it is basically the same as direct feeding except more direct.... I described it in the response about keeping the clams under the lighting. But basically it involves completely covering the creature and then directly feeding it so nothing escaped throughout the tank.....what have you tried feeeding it?

[Zack]

hmm that is ver sad, I have seen a pic of a clam being directly feeded have you seen that?

[plum70rt]

What I do is the turkey baster, with a mix of seafood in a blender, hose it with that, then it will close up and diegest it, mine is still going strong 5+ months

[Zack]

plum go to hear, keep us updated on it, watchman have you tried that?

[RazerCorals]

Done something similar. Only mine always seems to be closed.

[steve1s]

Watchman,

There was an earlier post by Phistio (I think), of a feeding method that would work very well.

It was basically a 2 litre coke bottle with the bottom cut off and a tube glued to the cap with a hole in it. Then the food can be injected into the chamber after being placed over the coral and it will not be disapated by the water current.

I tried finding the post, but hopefully the person who did upload the pics will know what I am refering to and re-post a link.

Cheers
Steve

[Chryocon]

that was the covering method I was talking about

[plum70rt]

Im going to try that coke bottle trick too, that is a great idea :D

[phistio]

http://www.reeflounge.com/forum/download.php?id=544

this the pic??? :wink:

[Zack]

yep thanks also Phistio how does it work you place it over them and then put in like plankton? doesn't the plankton just go to the top?

[phistio]

i just leave them covered for a few hours...and the plankton is in the bottle, and doesn't go right to the top...it swims all around...there's no current under neath the bottle... :wink:

[Zack]

cool does it block light?

[phistio]

i little...but i'm not worried about the lights...i'm worried about nutrition.

[Zack]

good point also another ? lol so I have dts plankton but it is a little expired is that bad?

[Samurai]

I just wanted to say thanks for the great idea Phistio. I had trouble imagining what it looked like. Simple and cheap and using supplies that everyone can get ahold of- awesome! :D

[Pineapple House]

good point also another ? lol so I have dts plankton but it is a little expired is that bad?
The plankton is getting old. Just smell it. If it's still living, you won't smell a thing. If it isn't, you'll smell a very foul oder. If it's just a slight oder, I wouldn't use it. When did it expire?

PH =)

[phistio]

5 months ago...but he said there's no foul odor.

i told him it might be still partially beneficial, and to use at his descretion.

[Zack]

yep bought one month befor expired:( :x :x

[unicornis]

i thought goniopora was rather easy to keep anyway i choose goniopora as my first coral and it is doing fine now very nice too. cool....

[BigFish]

back to the main topic I have heard of success underneath a pieceof live rock like on the underside of a overhang. And with some water flow and daily direct feedings. I think that was what I heard. The guy had a large tank with alot of rockwork he actually drilled a hole in the overhang and glued in the bottom of the flower pot. So the flower pot was hanging upside down and had some indirect light. This guy is really into reefs though. He was a speaker at one of the DMS mettings a year or two ago.
He ad alot of lighting on his tank.

[Fugly]

How long have you had your Goni Unicornis??
Gonis tend to last only around 18 months with the best of care so any1 reading these posts don't be surprised if your Goniopora just packs up and dies.

[HoopsGuru]

i thought goniopora was rather easy to keep anyway i choose goniopora as my first coral and it is doing fine now very nice too. cool....

I think its possible you have your coral misidentified. I don't even know a bad LFS that labels Goniopora as "easy to keep".

[Pineapple House]

i thought goniopora was rather easy to keep anyway i choose goniopora as my first coral and it is doing fine now very nice too. cool....

I think its possible you have your coral misidentified. I don't even know a bad LFS that labels Goniopora as "easy to keep".
I've seen some pictures of Fugly's Goni (look in 'Rate my tank' forum), and it's a Gonipora alright. Looks like it's recovering some lost tissue though. Do you have any updated pics of your goni Fugly? :)

As for the LFS- There's a few LFS's here that label the Goniopora a simple coral to keep :|

Graham =)

[on_fire_8]

If you insist on getting a goniapora, I recommend the red goniapora. It is far more hardier than others, and it is far more expensive. But I know three people who have had luck with red ones. www.cquarium.com almost always has them in their hit or miss section.

[Fugly]

Unfortunately it had a turn for the worse. Though its life span was pretty long considering it was already half dying in the LFS live rock tank. It flourished in my tank compared to theirs and mine had not even been going for more than 1 1/2 months (It matured fairly quickly mind you).

Goniopora corals are great corals but are only recommended to extremely good water quality tanks and must be a healthy specimen from purchase.... otherwise the worse will come to worst. :cry:

[HoopsGuru]

I've seen some pictures of Fugly's Goni (look in 'Rate my tank' forum), and it's a Gonipora alright.

My quote was from Unicornis not Fugly, he/she was told that it would be a good first coral which is why I think it might be a mistake.

Goniopora corals are great corals but are only recommended to extremely good water quality tanks and must be a healthy specimen from purchase.
False and true. They need to be healthy specimens but "extremely good water quality" often is viewed by people has heavily skimmed, etc. In that case, I would say false. The newest evidence (still far away from completly understanding which is why we really shouldn't have them) shows that most goniopora success is being attributed to higher nutrient tanks...especially ones running skimmerless. Their natural location is most often lagoons which lends credibility to this.

Nonetheless, sorry for your apparent loss. I would keep a detailed log of what you did for the coral this time. If you are ever tempted to try again, I would try different conditions.

[Fugly]

Your assuming that the extemely good water quality has something to do with skimmed water but it doesn't. It means that the water conditions are that of Goniopora coral living condition standard. e.g the sea itself.

[HoopsGuru]

Cool Fugly, that's why I stated, [but "extremely good water quality" often is viewed by people has heavily skimmed, etc. In that case, I would say false.] because there is no defined answer for the above.

[Fugly]

Aahhh ok... :P