Is Green Lace Gorgonian Dead?

[bang guy]

Originally Posted by shawnts106
I would say it is possible that some gorgs do eat some phyto, the reason being is of course they do eat zooplankton and such but if the zoo is eating phyto than the phyto is still in its gut and the gorgs to digest it do they not?
Yes, I agree.
So how does that relate to target feeding them Phytoplankton? That was the question and my answer was that it doesn't matter, they can't eat phyto.
Be very careful of the encrusting gorgs. They are a nuisance and can quickly take over all of the rocks in a reef tank. If you want a brown polyp tank then it's fine. If not then make sure you keep them on rocks seperated from the main reef.

 

[shawnts106]

If you want a brown polyp tank then it's fine
The one That I have seen is Green, not brown, its green and purple, like I said its almost Identicle to the GSP, but there is an obveous difference!
the ones that we have are Green and purple striped and have a purple base that is spiderlike, creeping along the rocks, not like the purple puddle like the GSP... and they look difference much different, with more of a "Texture" to them ... I will try and get a picture.. asap!

 

[shawnts106]

Opps, sorry
As far as the Gorgs eatting Phyto, I would only think this was possible concidering the Oceans they come from have phytoplankton in them almost year round...
They would have to rely somewhat on this... not only with the zooplankton... but directly
is there any research of taking wild colonys and doing a "gut" analsis ???
As I know with the Goniopora and Alveopora research this has been done, concluding in over like... 70% to 95% of the gut contained phytoplankton with the rest being zooplankton, their diet I think could also depend on the season... ???
this research was done by Julian Sprung, Im sure you can find this site somewhere, I think NM has a site about it... I forget who!

 

[shoreliner11]

Shawnts- there is research being done on gut analysis. The only thing is that this is so species specific it doesn't always relate to the particular species we are talking about. I advise to use scholar.google.com. Provides some great info. Unfortunately unless you are a marine biologist very familiar with all the proteins etc analyzed it can be a bit overwelming to read...and I'm a marine bio student. Whats the deal with that...anyhow. Do some searchs for gorgonian diet etc and you'll come up with some info. Good luck.
Aaron

 

[bang guy]

Originally Posted by shawnts106
The one That I have seen is Green, not brown, its green and purple, like I said its almost Identicle to the GSP, but there is an obveous difference!
Sounds interesting. I'm just cautioning that they can be very prolific and difficult to remove. It's a good idea to seperate them from rock you don't want to be covered by them. I'd like to see some of the green ones, perhaps we can trade sometime.

 

[bang guy]

Originally Posted by shawnts106
As far as the Gorgs eatting Phyto, I would only think this was possible concidering the Oceans they come from have phytoplankton in them almost year round...
I'm not saying you're wrong, but your logic doesn't work in this case. Baracuda are also surrounded by phyto and other algae. They still can't eat it directly though, they're just not set up that way.
The Gorg pictured above isn't setup to capture Phyto. It can capture small animals gut-loaded with phyto, but can't eat it directly IMO.

 

[shawnts106]

ok, ok, fine they dont eat it, but if sooo little research has been done on it , whos to say that they can not or do not?
anyway, Bang I do not have that green encrusted gorg in my possesion, however it is at our store! you may come and visit anytime LOL!
I will try and remember to take a picture and post it... if I remember, which is the hard part, posting is easy LOL!

 

[bang guy]

It sounds pretty sweet. Especially if you want a flowing green carpet on a wall of some rocks. That would be really cool.