sick gorgonian

[dano]

I have three different gorgonians and they all have been receding back from some of their tips leaving a threadlike skeleton without any flesh or polyps. I have tried cutting back the tips to just past the point where the thinnning is visible but I haven't been able to stem the problem. Any ideas? Thanks.

[Chad]

What type of gorgonians? are they photosynthetic or nonphotosynthetic? (usually those with brown polyps are photosynthetic, while while or colored polyps are nps).

 

If photosynthetic, flow could be an issue, they generally like storng surging type flow best.

 

If NPS, success in captivity varies depending on the species, but usually needs frequent feedings of very small fare to do well. Some species shut down the feeding response for the colony after as few as ~10% of the polyps have gathered food, a number that is no where near high enough to sustain the colony without frequent feeding.

 

Do you know what you have?

[dano]

Thanks Chad... two of them have brown polyps coming off fleshy branches of about an 1/8 inch. One is more purpully and looks like a 2 dimensional tree with very thin branches. Two things I will do when I get home is put them in more flow and baste them with some marine snow. Thanks again.