i broke my golden rule.....

[nice1bruva]

took a visit to my LFS yesterday and bought a coral i knew nothing about.

it was listed as a 'sea fan'
i already keep purple and silver gorgonians and have no problem with sps so i bit the bullet and bought it.
i have attached some pics as i cant identify it on the web anywhere....not too sure where to look but gave up after approx an hour.

any ideas anyone?
common and latin names welcome.

 

[nice1bruva]

more close up....this time from above.


the branches are redish purple.

 

[nice1bruva]

bump

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

It looks like a Diodogororgia nodulifera. aka colorful sea rod or red or orange tree gorgonian.

 

[wade1]

It'll need lots of feeding... larger particle sizes will be good. Cyclopeeze, artemia nauplii, etc.

 

[nice1bruva]

thanks guys!!
i was using cyclopeze in a turkey baster.
good to know i made the correct choice.

 

[wade1]

Do you see the polyps capture any of the cyclopeeze? If not, I would suggest you blend up some fish meat (filet, not skin) and shoot some of that at the gorgonian. That will provide a highly varied particle size and feed it well.

Keep us informed about how it does.

Wade

 

[nice1bruva]

Do you see the polyps capture any of the cyclopeeze? If not, I would suggest you blend up some fish meat (filet, not skin) and shoot some of that at the gorgonian. That will provide a highly varied particle size and feed it well.

Keep us informed about how it does.

Wade

thanks wade.
i have just bought some coral plankton by liquidlife to feed also.
i will let you know the result.

 

[John_Brandt]

It looks like a Diodogororgia nodulifera. aka colorful sea rod or red or orange tree gorgonian.

That gorgonian has white polyps.

I believe this one may be Ellisella sp.

 

[nice1bruva]

found it!
click on this link:
http://www.saltcorner.com/sections/zoo/640frameset.htm and then look under:
soft corals/gorgonia/seapen/Euplexaura/euplexaura.sp

im positive that this is the coral i have.

 

[John_Brandt]

found it!

im positive that this is the coral i have.

Whoa now! You mean it seems to resemble the photo given by Saltcorner.com.

Gorgonian identification can be very tricky. Euplexaura generally creates a fan-shaped overall form. Ellisella is almost identical, but creates a more bush-like form.

Euplexaura

Ellisella

Colour: Red to orange, pink, white, orange-yellow with red polyps, or red with white polyps. Azooxanthellate.

http://www.aims.gov.au/../../pages/softcorals-seafans/soft-corals12-224225.html

I'm not very confident of what it is. It seems like Ellisella to me.

 

[nice1bruva]

....and i would've got'n away with it if it hadn't of been for you pesky kids
:lol: :lol: :lol:

i'm confused now as the one i have looks identical to the one in the link i posted.
see below

 

[John_Brandt]

....and i would've got'n away with it if it hadn't of been for you pesky kids :lol: :lol: :lol:

I'll take that as a compliment. You did want to know what it might be, right?

i'm confused now as the one i have looks identical to the one in the link i posted.

It's not identical in a potentially important way. Euplexaura generally has a growth form that is fan-shaped. This means that the main branches and twigs align themselves in a two-dimensional array like a fan. Ellisella generally has a growth form that is bush-shaped. This means that the main branches and twigs project outwards from each other in a three-dimensional array like a bush.

Your gorgonian is obviously bush-shaped, while the Saltycorner photo of Euplexaura shows a typical fan-shape.

BTW, Borneman describes both genera as inappropriate for captivity. He adds detail to Ellisella by saying that it is reported as being very difficult or impossible to keep alive. You have been given good advice in this thread on how to try to maintain it. Good luck to you.

 

[nice1bruva]

it was a compliment john!!


i'll keep you posted on progress!

 

[yoh]

WTF is that avatar????????

 

[nice1bruva]

WTF is that avatar????????

what...you never seen a purple muppet before?
:wink:

 

[Anonymous]

It's a purple muppet spanking that hot french chick.

You mind enlarging that for us?

Louey

 

[nice1bruva]

It's a purple muppet spanking that hot french chick.

You mind enlarging that for us?

Louey

sorry louey....a mate did it for me.
io'm sure someone in the sum like ace could manage it.
the girl was pinched from the sump in the first place.
:lol: