Goniopora Corals

Part 1 / 2 / 3 / 4

So far we have covered quite a few aspects of maintaining Goniopora Corals. I have listed many of the reasons hobbyists may fail and have made some recommendations in both Part I, II and III, as to what should be done that may help prolong the life of this coral in captivity in our tanks.

The recommendations made are a compilation of personal experiences and information found in other texts, from conversations with hobbyists who have kept them successfully, and as a result of some of my talks with Dana Riddle who, a few years back, wrote a series of articles for MFM (Marine Fish Monthly) specifically on Goniopora Corals.

In conclusion of this 4 part article I would like to reiterate that this coral can be kept for extended periods of time and does not need to die needlessly as is so often the case, but that hobbyists who have such a coral in their aquarium should try to apply as many of the recommendations made to increase their success rate with Goniopora species.

Some important notes:

• Water motion
• Adjusting to Lighting
• Feeding
• Keeping Predators out and away
• Damage to the polyp by other tank residents
• Treating for possible Nudibranchs
• Treat for bacterial infection
• Keep iodine levels up
• Find the right spot for it depending on the type you have
• Watch out for stinging corals nearby
• Keep Caulerpa at a good distance
• Do not place two of them too near to each other
• Get rid of detritus by blowing it off from between the tentacles
• Watch for encrusting diatoms on the skeleton. Keep silicate low
• Buy healthy specimens only
  • No tentacles should be missing
  • Buy specimens with a full polyp. No part of the upper skeleton should be visible
• Keep nitrates very low
• Urchins will eventually damage this coral. Keep them out of the tank. Pencil urchins appear to be fine but spiny urchins are not.
• Make sure your reef structural integrity is such that no rock can fall onto your coral
• When the coral is fully extended, its large single polyp is stretched very widely and is more prone to damage
• Night feeding with plankton from time to time appears to benefit this coral (and others in your tank too).
• Place the coral towards the lower part of the tank. If it does not appear to well there you can gradually raise it to a higher level and determine whether that makes it open more
• According to D. Riddle, this coral does not react too well to UV
• According to P. Wilkens it is prone to attacks by the alga Ostreobium although I have not been able to document this and prove it. He mentions it in one of his books (Invertebrates, Pfriem Verlag, 1990, 135 pp). W. R. Taylor lists this alga as Ostreobium, Bornet and Flahault, 1889 and Ostreobium quekettii. Symbiont or inhabits dead coral or dead shells.
• Note that Goniopora polyps have 24 tentacles whereas the closely related Alveopora only has 12 at the end of each tentacle
• Coral has a tendency to slime quite strongly when irritated and that slime needs to be removed by the water motion or it will lead to either the so-called brown jelly bacterial disease, or the so-called white toothpaste bacterial disease
• Treating with iodine in a bath outside the tank from time to time is a good practice
• D&S allude to some missing element in the water that may cause this coral not to do well. This element they state has not been identified yet.
• Skeleton uptakes more strontium than other corals, meaning adding Sr to your tank is important
• Do not touch this coral with your bare hands or fingers. Where latex gloves when handling it.
• Coral can be out of the water for some time without apparent damage
• Make sure the coral itself is well anchored in your tank so it does not tumble down. Gluing the base with some epoxy to another rock is one method or using a peg to balance it and make sure it cannot fall is another one
• Asexual reproduction takes place by little buds forming on the coral and then detaching themselves. These buds grow slowly and should be affixed to a rock after a short period of time to ensure their survival
• Brightly coloured specimens need lots of light. Darker brownish ones do better in lower intensity lighting
• A coral with, obviously, many special requirements and therefore not recommended for beginners. Even experienced hobbyists often seem to have problems with them.
• I have personally found that the addition of Kelp extract appears to benefit this coral a great deal (for instance KSM from TAD the only kelp extract I know of that is commercially available.

Albert Thiel