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You are here: Home / Corals / Gorgonians in the Marine Aquarium

Gorgonians in the Marine Aquarium

by greg.chernoff

It should go without saying that the hermatypic, stony, reef-building corals will dominate most reef aquaria. Thankfully, so long as (1) key water parameters are monitored, (2) the appropriate light conditions are provided and (3) nutritious planktonic foods are present, these beautiful plant-animal symbiotic combos easily flourish even in the care of novice hobbyists.

Especially as our corals lay down their calcareous skeletons over the aquascape, we might throw ourselves a little high-five and marvel at how realistic and natural the display appears. And that’s quite fine; with or without all of the full-tank shots we proudly display on Facebook, this is the reward for which we invest so much time, money and soul into our tanks. But all it really takes is seeing one or two photos of an actual tropical coral reef habitat to see how far we’ve yet to go…

 

Going Soft

An amazing purple gorgonian in the wildWild reefs host mindboggling biological diversity. Many, many different types of plant and animal might be found just within an arm’s reach. Even among the corals, there are sundry types to be found on a healthy, mature reef. Aside from those all-important reef builders, there is a wide variety of soft corals that take advantage of the shallow (i.e. brightly sunlit), plankton-laden waters as well as the habitable surface that hard corals (and the “live” rock they create) provides. These lithe-bodied corals dance with the water currents as tides and waves spill over the reef’s crests and flats.

For sure, it is this softer side of the reef that creates the mesmerizing, rhythmic movement so many aquarists seek to replicate. Many hobbyists (beginning hobbyists in particular) try their hand firstly with photosynthetic soft coral species. This does make a lot of sense. Harboring zooxanthellae (those symbiotic algae) much like their stony counterparts, these species can make most of their food and therefore are fairly easy to feed (when deliberately fed at all).

The soft corals (Order Alcyonacea) are at least as varied in form as the stony corals. Perhaps the only conspicuous characteristic they share is the eight-fold symmetry of their colonial polyps (as with all their relatives in Subclass Octocorallia). The predominate soft corals in the aquarium trade are those fleshy or leathery types such as Sinularia and Sarchophyton respectively. These are indeed common on most reefs. But just as abundant in the wild–while not yet commonly enjoyed in aquaria–are the gorgonians.

[Phyto]

Shrubs of the Sea

The gorgonians (Suborder Holaxonia) include the sea blades, the sea fans, the sea rods and the sea whips. They form beautiful and sometimes very large colonies that take a tree-like or bush-like form. Rather than a hard, stony, calcium carbonate-based skeleton, colonies are held together by a flexible but tough, fibrous protein called gorgonin. The branchy gorgonin base holds firm against strong water currents that bring food and oxygen to the polyps whilst carrying away their waste products.

Gorgonians use their fine tentacles and stocky mucus to capture phytoplankton. Some, such as Diodogorgia, must capture all of their food for a living. While most if not all gorgonians rely upon phytoplankton and tiny zooplankton for their food, a few are additionally capable of harboring zooxanthellae.

Quite understandably, for the reasons offered above, reef aquarists tend to choose zooxanthellate species for their first gorgonians. A great many of these originate in the Caribbean and Western Atlantic Ocean and are available in the trade as aquacultured. Members of the genera Pterogorgia and Plexaura are especially hardy and recommended for reef aquarists of any skill level. Still, while easy to keep, these gorgonians do seem to require some sustenance from foods they capture from the water column.

 

Feeding your Gorgonians

Prepared diets such as Can O’ Cyclops can give a nice supplemental boost to the diet of these corals. However, because they feed almost constantly, an in-tank source of nutrition yields much A sea fanbetter results. For this purpose, a pod-phyto combination is ideal.

Nearly all corals are zooplanktivores. Particularly during the nighttime hours, corals “open up” and extend their tentacles in order to capture small, drifting animals. Copepods make up the bulk of most zooplanktivorous corals’ diets. In this respect, captive corals of all sorts benefit greatly from the regular addition of copepods. Gorgonians generally prefer small sized plankton (e.g. bacterioplankton) and so benefit most from a product that includes individual copepods from all life stages (not just the biggest and oldest!). In this respect, 5280 Pods works very well.

The food favored by pods is algae. Young pods (i.e. nauplii), which generally are planktonic, therefore require phytoplankton. The addition of phyto not only boosts pod production but also ensures that their guts are loaded with lots of nutritious fatty acids, vitamins, pigments, etc. Thus, wholesome live phyto products such as OceanMagik benefit gorgonians by promoting high numbers of nutritionally enriched copepod nauplii. What’s more, gorgonians and many other soft corals are capable of drawing phytoplankton directly from the water column.

If you keep gorgonians–even thinking about keeping gorgonians–you should know a little “secret…” 5280 Pods and OceanMagik are available in a combo. And you can have them sent to your front door by subscription!
[Phyto]

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Asad Khan says

    November 25, 2019 at 2:59 pm

    I’ve always been interested in Gorgonians. I have recently switched over from high tech planted tanks so I really like the look of macroalgae and Gorgonians.

    Reply
  2. Kelly Tompkins says

    November 25, 2019 at 3:33 pm

    I love the shape of the fan gorgonians! I am thinking about getting one or two!

    http://bit.ly/2PTnrN2

    Reply
    • James says

      November 30, 2019 at 7:42 pm

      I have had one for years….go for a photosynthetic one.

      Reply
  3. Jonathan says

    November 25, 2019 at 6:33 pm

    I love gorgonians. They look amazing when their polyps are out and they are swaying in the current.

    Reply
  4. Mike Mijarez says

    November 25, 2019 at 8:40 pm

    Real interesting pattern to the gorgonians and beautiful

    Reply
  5. robert vice says

    November 25, 2019 at 10:19 pm

    I’ve got 3 gorgonians ive had for years one dont do so hot the other 2 grow like crazy

    Reply
  6. Kinue says

    November 25, 2019 at 11:38 pm

    Love all gorgs!

    Reply
  7. Nickn says

    November 26, 2019 at 2:53 am

    I love the movement of Gorgonians

    Reply
  8. dartagnon_1965 says

    November 26, 2019 at 4:10 am

    Very pretty, but never felt I had room for these

    Reply
  9. F Fudge says

    November 26, 2019 at 6:27 am

    These are beautiful ❤️

    Reply
  10. Joe car says

    November 26, 2019 at 7:00 am

    I love the colors , but with its fast growth I think it would outgrow my tank fast.

    Reply
  11. Becky says

    November 26, 2019 at 7:18 am

    I don’t have any gorgonians at the moment but will be looking into them in the future!

    Reply
  12. Wilfredo Robles says

    November 26, 2019 at 12:10 pm

    one my best picture of my aquarium is my dwarf seahorse hanging on to my gorgonian.

    Reply
  13. Cassandre-Leigh Klaasen says

    November 26, 2019 at 12:22 pm

    Wow – so amazing – so big!

    Reply
  14. Richard Baer says

    November 26, 2019 at 1:17 pm

    These types of corals seem like they would be great in a seahorse tank!

    Reply
  15. polygonreef says

    November 26, 2019 at 5:20 pm

    Love NPS corals!

    Reply
  16. Michgander reefer says

    November 26, 2019 at 5:45 pm

    Love how they look scared on getting one

    Reply
  17. Chris S. Buswell says

    November 26, 2019 at 7:51 pm

    I have often considered trying them out. You convinced me!

    Reply
  18. Matt Blefeld says

    November 26, 2019 at 7:58 pm

    Beautiful

    Reply
  19. Steven Rodriguez says

    November 26, 2019 at 8:37 pm

    I own a red one very easy to care for

    Reply
  20. liesle_memmott says

    November 26, 2019 at 9:07 pm

    They are so interesting and have great variety and beauty. I’ve been told by many that your tank has to be pretty stable and established for a long time to be stable. Nice to learn a bit more about their nutritional needs to thrive.

    Reply
  21. Christopher Burns says

    November 26, 2019 at 10:01 pm

    gorgeous

    Reply
  22. Dallas Tippie says

    November 27, 2019 at 12:41 am

    I love gorgonians! They sway so nicely in the current.

    Reply
  23. BRETT says

    November 27, 2019 at 8:40 am

    Cool!

    Reply
  24. whwhunt says

    November 27, 2019 at 10:23 am

    I’ve been debating on trying nps corals.

    Reply
  25. dcallahan56789 says

    November 27, 2019 at 12:40 pm

    I would try the photosynthetic species first. this is one coral im waiting on putting in the tank. love the look just dont want it to suffer without enough food.

    Reply
  26. Liz McDaneld says

    November 27, 2019 at 4:03 pm

    Absolutely stunning

    Reply
  27. Aaron says

    November 27, 2019 at 5:35 pm

    info info info

    Reply
  28. Richard Gorelick says

    November 28, 2019 at 4:37 pm

    Have been thinking about trying out gorgonians in my nano so this helps a lot. Thank you.

    Reply
  29. Tim kubajak says

    November 28, 2019 at 4:55 pm

    Love gorgonians!

    Reply
  30. Echo says

    November 28, 2019 at 9:21 pm

    I definitely want to get some gorgonians. I’ve been eyeing purple whips.

    Reply
  31. Wesley Spangler says

    November 29, 2019 at 9:03 pm

    I dont know anyone who has kept then long term. This blog makes me want to give it a try

    Reply
  32. phyllis owens says

    November 30, 2019 at 8:23 am

    pretty

    Reply
  33. Luis Aceves says

    November 30, 2019 at 3:10 pm

    Gorgonians are cool!

    Reply
  34. James says

    November 30, 2019 at 8:00 pm

    I have had one for years go for the photosynthetic ones to start.

    Reply
  35. Lonnie C Goldman says

    June 5, 2020 at 3:42 pm

    There is just a mountain of information here.

    I may be up all night now reading these articles.

    Reply
  36. Drew C says

    December 30, 2020 at 9:03 pm

    Great article. I’m going to get a goni soon and I will share the results

    Reply

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