I dunn if its been mentioned yet but the key to these animals is nutrition. I mix up 3 mls of oyster eggs/tissue with 3 mls of rotifers, then add 5-10mls of tank water and a couple drops of coral vitamin soak. mix this up really well cuz it takes a good deal of agitation to break up the tissue n stuff.
Let this mix sit for 30 mins or so. Get yourself s really good blend of live phtyoplankton /w zooanthae. My favorite phtyo is Phycopure. Again, dilute 5 mls of this with 10 mls of tank water and after the circulation in the tank is shut off, use a 1 ml syringe and give it a couple gentle shots of the phyto. You wont see a feeding response with these things. I dunno how it actually absorbs the food but I know it does. After a while of not feeling my Green Goni (the hardest of all to keep beyond a year) the color will fade. But when i do this feeding procedure the color comes right back within a day or two.
I do this 10 minutes after the actinics go on in the morning. 10 Minutes later I follow up with the oyster egg/tissue + roti mix. Use the 1 ml syringe and gently release a cloud over the colony, with no circulation it will settle on it. Be careful how much of these foods you use cuz it can be hard to control the phoshates. Do this 2-3 times a week for a month and youll notice a difference.
Lighting and flow have to be ideal too. After feeding those tentcles have to be able to flow around in a random pattern but not too violent. Light, im dunno, moderate to high is where i have mine. Their natural habitat are in shallow lagoons so try to replicate that environment.
This animal youve chosen is probabaly THE most challenging to keep. So these tedious feeding regimens are required if you to keep one alive longer than the projected 12 month lifespan in captivity. The key is that nutrition though. Those oyster eggs n ovarian issue is the BEST food to come out in the past decade though. Use it. Then take the rest of the mix and feed your sps and other filter feeders like Gorgonians, Coco Worms n stuff like that. My cleaner shrimp go nuts for the stuff so if you have them keep em away from the Goni and others your feeding.
There are other Gonis that are easier to care for but the Green ones are the hardest. GL man, most consider them too difficult to even attempt but if youre into challenges, this thing definetely qualifies. I do hope people realize how hard it is to keep these animals. MAybe if people realize this before they consider buying them, so many of 'em wont be removed from the sea only to be ushered to certain death by LFS demand.
-Jay
