Goniopora 7/21/09 Hello, <Hello Leon> hope all is well with everyone. <As good as it gets.> I posted in a couple of the forums I am a member of but to no avail. Here is the post and links to the pics, thank you in advance; Hi everyone, I have taken on the challenge of a Goniopora and was having a little trouble with it starting to retract. Someone here recommended oyster eggs along with phytoplankton. I bought some oyster feast and after a couple of feedings it is responding well, so, thank you for that suggestion. <You're welcome.> Now comes the intriguing part of this post. Since it is doing better, it has taken on an almost florescence lime Green color. It started out Brown. I actually like the new color better as it is an eye catcher in the tank but I was curious as to why it changed? <Is the color of the zooxanthellae that provides food to the coral. I cannot comment any further without seeing the pics. The links you provided came up blank. James (Salty Dog)> The lights are the same and are at about their mid-point as far as age of bulbs. So, what do you think? Here are before and after; http ://i269. photobucket .com/albums/jj46/ unclejed_bucket /55gal120. jpg (before) http ://i269. photobucket .com/albums/jj46/ unclejed_bucket /55galbright004. jpg (after) Re Goniopora 7/21/09 Let me try these attachments from my computer, they may be huge though. <Yes, they are, take up too much room on our server. In the future, do resize to a couple of hundred KB. As for the pics, the first (the brown) appears to be a healthy Goniopora, while the other picture dictates bleaching of the coral (what say you, Bob?). <<Mmm, possibly. This genus is almost always best placed, left on the bottom of tanks, away from much/direct water circulation... where the polyps can be individually fed... as gone over and over on WWM. RMF>> In your previous email, you state, "the lights are the same". The same as what? What type of lighting are you using? This type of coral needs intense lighting (metal halide/HQI preferred) for survival and is not one of the easier corals to maintain. James (Salty Dog)>

Re Goniopora 7/22/09 I meant that both pics are under the same lights, I didn't change any lights. The lights are all T5. I have the SlimPaq 10,000k with the Marine Glo and Power Chrome Aquablue + with Power Chrome Actinic +. I have a 55 gal. Thanks for responding. Now that I have it, any suggestions other than feeding phyto and oyster feast? Or should I give up on it and see if LFS will exchange. <Unlikely your LFS will exchange. With your lighting, I am now inclined to believe the coral is bleaching. Would be much better to have three 10K's and one true actinic. Placing the coral on the substrate away from strong currents is suggested, and do target feed this coral ensuring all polyps get fed. James (Salty Dog)> Re Goniopora 7/22/09 I want to thank all who have helped, you guys are professional and informative, again, thank you. <That would be Bob and I, and you're welcome. James (Salty Dog)>

Porites changing color?
Greetings, Revered Invertebrate Problem Solvers,
< Revered? Not sure about that. >
I have a Porites sp. (lobata?) with some Spirobranchus (incidental, I pay attention the Porites, but the worms are pretty damn cool.) When I purchased the Porites rock (on a mini-boulder, encrusting -> lobata??), it was a shade of brown, maybe brownish-grey. After playing with its placement in my tank every couple weeks, we have settled on an area where his/her polyps are beautifully extended for the majority of the day and part of the night (the latest I have witnessed being 4 or 5 am after a night at the bar) 
< You sound like Bob. > 
The Porites has been situated there for nearly a month, in the tank for 4 months. That's the background, leaving out equipment specifications.
Now, this place where the Porites currently resides is as close to the lights as I have ever had it (though not nearly as close as some pink zoos, Acro, etc.), and as mentioned, I have never had it display such full polyp extension. But, I have recently noticed some slight color changes. In the day cycle, I see hues of green and purple throughout the coral. With a "night light", I see an almost green fluorescence akin to that of my Hydnophora or green zoos. 
< I'd say this is "good" from a hobbyist perspective. It is almost certainly in response to the lighting. > 
I have read about a Purple Spot or Purple Swirl or Ring (something like that) disease that can affect Porites. Should I be worried about what I see in the day cycle? Again, I only see the purple hue during the day, and have only noticed it for about 2 weeks. Any advice/ pointers/ ideas/ thoughts/ or sources I could check out would be helpful. My thanks, indeed... 
< I would say it is probably a chemical reaction to make pigments in response to the high light levels. I'll bet you have powerful lights if you are keeping Acros in there. So I think the purple and green fluorescent hues are defense mechanism for that light, and I would bet your coral will look better as this takes place. So don't change anything is my advise. >
-LH
< Blundell > 

Goniopora
I have recently (about a week and some) brought a Goniopora. (I learned a little too late that it is one of the hardest corals to raise and me being a novice, didn't know how hard it was to raise.)
<do be sure not to repeat the mistake... please buy a good reference book before you buy another coral. Eric Borneman's Aquarium Corals is an excellent reference>
It has been opening about a half a inch then retracting again. Is there something wrong with it?
<normal polyp cycles... corals do not extend polyps at all times>
and if so what can I do to help it open? Thank You
<too much to cover here in the media of e-mail. Know that this coral needs to be kept on a bed of fine sand (never on rock! it will die in time there). It also needs to be kept in a fishless refugium with seagrasses or heavy macroalgae IMO. Please research so much more about this coral in our WetWebMedia.com archives and beyond. Best regards, Anthony>

Goniopora
Hi!
<hello>
  I purchased a Flower Pot Coral (Goniopora, Green when it's closed, green ends on beige tentacles when it's open) about 2 weeks ago. It took 3 days to acclimate and has since opened fully during the day and so far seems to be doing well. I have it located  toward the top of my 120G tank and in mild water flow. I add Seachem supplements as well as Phytoplankton but have not directly fed this coral. I know it has a poor reputation for survival in captivity and will learn from the experience.
<I would not purchase this animal again. Only in rare cases does this coral survive in captivity. they seem to do great at first, but slowly the tentacles keep getting smaller and smaller until it no longer opens>
Recently, the last two days,  I have noticed what appears like little wisps of smoke coming off a number of the polyps. The wisps separate from the polyp and float to the top of my tank and get carried off to the sump and I assume are caught by the pre-filter in the sump. These wisps don't appear to be a problem for the fish or the other corals in the tank. Can you help with any information on what these wisps are?
< It sounds like mucus because of the smoke color) building up. Then the coral is shedding it. MikeH>
I have posted the question on the forum but have not as yet received a good answer. Your help would be appreciated. Many thanks.

Goniopora Regrowth Question
>Will flowerpot corals rebuild themselves when damaged in certain areas?
>>Actually, I'm not certain, but I would surmise that in nature this would certainly be possible, so it should also be in the aquarium.  One of the things that we've learned with them is that they most definitely need to be directly fed, this will go a long way towards helping them rebuild/regrow/regenerate.  If this is due to bacterial infection, then there are other issues that need to be addressed, but I do know that many invertebrates are treated with broad spectrum antibiotics (specifically Spectrogram) at the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific.  Marina