*~ Blueberry Gorgonian help! ~* (pic included)

xokarmaxo

xokarmaxo

Member
:help:
I got this blueberry gorgonian from my LFS yesterday. This is the first time they have ever gotten any of this particular gorgonian. I saw that it had some brown colored branches, but saw that the blooms that it did have, looked pretty healthy, so I bought it. Here is a picture of it right after I added it to my tank. The blooms had not yet opened up all the way. You can clearly see the brown colored branches. Is this normal, or does it mean that this gorgonian is dying?

It's such a beautiful gorgonian, almost looks like a bonsai tree! If anyone knows me from my previous LFS "rescue" threads, you know that I am totally committed to giving it plenty of TLC to try to bring it back, if it is indeed dying.
Should I be concerned about these brown branches?
 
steve24

steve24

Active Member
umm, IMHO its dying, and i don`t think they (gorgonians) have a very good recovery rate, but i`d wait for responses from more expirenced then me ...
 
puffer32

puffer32

Active Member
i believe those branches are already dead. Here is a pic of mine the day i got him. That was about 6 months ago, and has sinced died. I had him in a simi shaded spot, not easy with MH, with lots of flow. I feed my tank heavy because of my anthias loving DTs, rotifers and phyto plankton as do my corals. My skimmer works over time to keep my tank clean, and my water is pristine. But it died anyway
I hope you have better luck, keep me informed, i love these fans, very beautiful creatures.
 
dragonladylea

dragonladylea

Member
The Blueberry Gorgo's have yet to be kept successfully out of their natural environment. There has been alot of research trying to keep them alive in a reef tank and unfortunately so far it is not working.
 
xokarmaxo

xokarmaxo

Member

So should I go ahead and take it out of the tank, or wait and see what it does?

BTW, I know that this sounds like a stupid question, but how will I know when it's dead? Will it disintegrate or melt? Or will all of the branches just look like a dead tree?
 
puffer32

puffer32

Active Member
Just wait and see at this point. I still have mine in my tank, but i don't see any blue on it at all, just looks like a dead tree
 
xokarmaxo

xokarmaxo

Member
I'll wait and see then. It's too bad because it really does add a lot to the appearance of my tank.
It truly does look like a little bonsai tree with blue flowers on it.
If it dies, does it just look like a dead tree? Will it cause an ammonia spike in the tank?
 
puffer32

puffer32

Active Member
Yeah i feel your pain, i love these little underwater beauties also, anything flowery or bright colored, hubby says its a women thing, he prefers stuff like brains and frogspawns, where i like the delicate colorful stuff like polops and cloves. I don't think it will hurt your water keeping it in your tank, mines been polopless for a week or more and its still in there, no slimmy stuff on it at all.
 
xokarmaxo

xokarmaxo

Member
Thanks! Will do then.

Yeah, I like all of the pretty/girly/colorful stuff too and now, my tank is PACKED. I have a 14 gallon Biocube that I couldn't add another thing in it if I wanted to. Thinking about having to move up to the 29 already! :jumping:
 
puffer32

puffer32

Active Member
Beautiful tank! And yes, about the upgrade, why not get yourself a large tank instead of a 29 and just be done with it? Of course mine is getting pretty full also, I had to add a 55 just to hold my frags from 150 :scared: Very addicting hobby
 
xokarmaxo

xokarmaxo

Member
VERY addicting for sure! I can't go any larger than a 29 if I wanted to because I keep my tank at work in my office. I'm at work more than I am at home and I have my tank on my credenza, and anything bigger than a 29 just wouldn't work, so it limits me. I don't have one at home because I'm not there long enough, except for the evenings, and plus, when we have a storm, it doesn't matter if it's a bad one or not, our power always goes out for HOURS, and that's not good! At work, power rarely ever goes out, and if it does, I'm most likely there, so... figure that I should enjoy my hobby there! :)
For now.....
 
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