Underwater World LA Aquaculture: Goniopora

[Matt Rogers]

I just received a dispatch from Justin Credabel at Underwater World of LA on his latest efforts with Goniopora. Justin was a hit at Reef-A-Palooza with his talk on Goniopora and has offered to follow up this week and field a few questions you may have here on 3reef. Enjoy...

Underwater World LA Aquaculture: Goniopora
Justin Credabel



Goniopora palmensis


I have been spending a lot of time as of late working on establishing new strains of captive coral, Goniopora are among my favorites. I brought a few strains of Goniopora with me from the East Coast. By far the prettiest Goniopora I have are injured/sick rejects from my first months working in LA. I nursed them back to health, and today they display brilliant color and reward me with constant growth. One of my favorite colonies I grew from 3 polyps. I used a regime of careful feeding and hydrogen peroxide dips when algae got overwhelming. Today the pink morph of Gonipora burgosi has rounded out to a respectable colony of dozens of polyps.

Another outstanding species of Goniopora is G. polyformis. Some specimens display extremely bright neon green colors, especially when healthy. As long as the colony has been handled properly along the supply chain, these coral are quite readily take to captivity, as far as Goniopora go. They are greedy feeders and can take much larger prey items than the smaller polyped species. There are several other morphs of this species that can be hard to identify as G. polyformis without skeletal analysis.


Goniopora tenuidens

A great species for blue and purple hues is Goniopora tenuidens. We have many established strains of G. tenuidens, already growing, manyof these colonies form fast growing fluted edges. There are also several strains of Goniopora tenuidens that have yellow centers surrounded by pink, these tend to have smaller polyps and like higher flow. They will often develop bright purple acrospheres at the tips of their tentacles.


Goniopora planulata

Water parameters for Goniopora should be the same as that for SPS and other hard coral. Chronic low calcium/alkalinity or high nutrients will cause most hard coral to decline in health, including Goniopora.

I like to use systems with a refugium. This type of filtration uses macroalgae (Chaetomorpha) to export nutrients. Among the algae and throughout the refugium (free from fish predators), micro invertebrate flourish, and they and their offspring continually pour into the many tank providing a continuous natural food source.

Justin
Underwater World of LA

Underwater World of LA, a wholesale supplier to local fish shops, has released its new line of captive grown coral. These coral are grown in Los Angeles using solar powered LED illumination. These coral are fully acclimated to aquarium conditions are extremely hardy compared to wild colonies. The new species available include mushroom , Zoanthids, Palythoa, Favia, Favites, Platygyra, Goniastrea Galaxia, Acanthastrea, Goniopora, Montipora and more. Underwater World has also introduced its Limited Edition rare stock of Justin Credabel corals, including Goniopora, Psammacora, fused Zoanthids and Acanthastrea.
Underwater World is wholesale only, you can find their captive grown coral at your local fish shop.


Underwater World is now selling its new line of coral, Justin Credabel Goniopora. These frags are cultivated using Solar Powered LED lights. Justin has been hand picking Goniopora to clones and establish in captivity. Along with several clone lines Justin brought with him along his big move to the west coast, there are now dozens of strains established and growing.



These coral are hardier than their wild brethren. After growing in captivity, these Goniopora have adapted to the unique conditions of aquarium life. They are regularly fed to ensure optimum health. Underwater World uses Justin Credabel Gonipora Food, a special blend of food designed to meet the consistency and prey capture response requirements for the broad range of different Goniopora species.



New Underwater World Captive Grown Coral can be found at your local pet stores. If your local fish shop doesn’t carry them, ask them to.

Underwater World of LA:
Underwater World

[Siddique]

Beautiful coral. I like to re rehabilitate corals as well. But not finicky corals like goniopora. I wouldn't even touch gonio. So far I haven't nursed much pieces. I have some zoos, bubble and a favia under my belt
I really like that facility at Underwater world as well.
Great Post Matt.

[amcarrig]

Looking forward to seeing more from Justin!

[inwall75]

Water parameters for Goniopora should be the same as that for SPS and other hard coral. Chronic low calcium/alkalinity or high nutrients will cause most hard coral to decline in health, including Goniopora.

THANK YOU!!! I get so tired of correcting people when they say Goniopora sp. or Alveopora sp. need "dirty water"

[amcarrig]

Hey Curt, I heard that goniopora need dirty water. How do you feel about that?

[inwall75]

Originally Posted by amcarrig

Hey Curt, I heard that goniopora need dirty water. How do you feel about that?

LOL

It's just like when you feed kids. You want to make sure they get plenty of protiens, carbs, the proper fats, etc. However, when they are done, you throw away what's left on the plate.....you don't toss it under the table to rot. I've found that flowerpots are hungry critters....then I skim out the unused food.

[missionsix]

Originally Posted by inwall75

THANK YOU!!! I get so tired of correcting people when they say Goniopora sp. or Alveopora sp. need "dirty water"

Water parameters for Goniopora should be the same as that for SPS and other hard coral. Chronic low calcium/alkalinity or high nutrients will cause most hard coral to decline in health, including Goniopora.

Here! Here!

[Matt Rogers]

Please post any questions you may have for Justin so he can follow up here!

[horkn]

Originally Posted by Matt Rogers

Please post any questions you may have for Justin so he can follow up here!

While I am in awe of the colors and research of the goniopora, my first question is "Is that really your name? Justin Credable?"

On to my real question though.

I have been thinking of getting a goniopora from ORA, but I am hesitant to due to the poor success rate many have had. Is the ORA one a hardier variety than most? I do have a calcium reactor and have great growth on my SPS colonies, so i believe I have what one would call pristine water.

Thanks,
Tom

[inwall75]

Wow!!!

I'm shocked that no one has asked one of the more obvious questions (at least in my mind). That's fine....I'll ask


Justin, what do you feed your goniopora and how often?