# orange gorgonian coral having problems



## im_a_clownfish

Hi All,

I'm having problems with one of my new orange gorgonian corals. It used to be bright orange and thick when I got it (3 weeks ago), but now part of it (mainly near the base) is turning white and the "branches" are getting thinner and it almost looks like something is eating them or that it is wasting away. I have a picture of it if anyone wants to see it as it's too big (300k) to upload to the forum 

It's fairly high in the tank and I have power compact lights and thats the only thing I can think of that may be bothering it. I know the gorgonian corals need a fair amount of waterflow, which it has.

Any ideas? Thanks!


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## leveldrummer

some gorgonians are not photosynthetic, meaning they dont get food from light, you have to feed them, i would check into that, try to find out if the one you have needs to be fed, if it does, you need to target feed it DT's or phyto/zoo plankton.


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## im_a_clownfish

Could the light be bleaching it out? I will try moving it to a shadier spot and feeding it with brine shrimp. I do feed the tank marine snow (and all my other filter feeding corals and gorgonians are fine), but dont target feed anything. I have the orangy colored red finger gorgonian, and liveaquaria.com didnt say anything about target feeding, but does say feed with snow, brine shrimp, etc. Any ideas?


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## leveldrummer

i would think the polyps are a to small for brine, snow might be better. im not that great about stuff like that, i was just offering some suggestions and ideas, might want to check with someone that knows that species a little better, try to send "theoldsalt" a private messege, he would probably have a better idea


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## TheOldSalt

No, don't do that. I get enough PM's already.

Orange gorgos are tough to keep if you don't feed them, or if something else is feeding off of them, or if they get damaged or squooshed somewhere along the way. I don't think the lighting is having any effect at all on it, except maybe in that its promoting the growth of something on it which is smothering it.

You could try moving it, adjusting the waterflow near it, or even dipping it in some coral dip stuff in case it's an infection. ( along with better feeding, of course )


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## im_a_clownfish

Thanks very much!
I put snow in my tank every day and my purple feather gorgonian does really well but didn't know you needed to target feed the orange ones. I'll start target feeding it immediately. It was in pristine condition when I got it and was careful when taking it home. The white "stuff" on it was some gunk growing on it so I gently wiped it off, as well as the rest of the branches. I moved it away from the light and will even buy the coral dip just to be safe.

About what to feed it - is target feeding it snow sufficient, or will it also accept frozen (thawed of course) brine shrimp too? mysis maybe? I read that you should feed them "often" but dont know how often "often" is...lol. Is target feeding it once a day sufficient?

Thanks again!!!


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## im_a_clownfish

Okay now there is some black stuff growing on parts of the gorgonian.. Is this die off from the gorgonian, something growing on it, or just food it has collected and stuck to it?


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## Fishfirst

sounds like black cyno


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## im_a_clownfish

would a regular red cyano bacteria remover kill the black cyano too?


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## flamingo

Orange gorgonians aren't photsynthetic so it's good you moved it further away from the light. Just put it in a spot where it gets enough flow, and make sure you attach it in rocks ABOVE the sand or it will probably die within a few weeks.

BBS (baby brine shirmp), phytoplankton, and the like should be good enough to feed to it. Skip bigger brine and mysis, too big for the gorgonian.

As for the cyano, keep dusting it off and see what happens. I haven't dealt with it much (only in my mom's 55 gallon) but it never really seemed to take off. It would barely cover the tips of the fake coral and glass, then it would just disappear.


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## im_a_clownfish

I'm curious why you say "attach it in rocks above the sand". Does the sand harm it if it gets in the water?

Thanks!


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## flamingo

I've heard if they're placed in sand they usually start to get "rot". WIthin a few weeks most turn brown and die.


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