Anyone Keep Goniopora or Carnation Corals? What do you feed?

I have a gonoporia thats been doing well, it just seems like the polypls are more retracted lately, im wondering what everyone who has kept them more successfully feeds?

and I love the look of carnation corals. but they say for expert, im curious what their requirements are?

 

Read the details:

Drs. Foster and Smith Diver's Den® - Dendronephthya sp.

 

i have tried carnations with no luck they slowly wither away.
goniopora's i have luck with. the one swells like a blowfish when its feeding. the others don't seem to do this. but look healthy. i have had them a few months now. i did try adding 2 more and the last two bought died. not sure why they didn't make it since i have 5.... 2 ball type, one small frag, and 2 of the creeping type. would like to pick up a branching type.
i recommend if you feed frozen foods to your fish, if your running a skimmer turn it off for an hour after feeding. it gives the goniopora time to feed on the juices from the frozen foods, i dump the juices into the tank from the food i know some have a problem with this, and say defrost and drain frozen foods, but defrosting in a shot glass and throwing all the food and juices into the tank, works for me. i noticed when my skimmer needed a part and was turned off for a week, the one goniopora was swelled almost all the time. this is when i realized it was always feeding without the skimmer running and taking the food from the water. i notice this one feeds each time i feed my fish, easy to notice since it swells. the others a can't tell, but guessing they are also feeding at this time.

 

What kind of frozen are you feeding?

I wish carnations were keepable they are so pretty

 

i feed a large variety to my fish the coral benefit from this, rods in the different formulas, mysis, brine shrimp, cyclopeeze, brine with spirila (spelling?) and marine snow and selcon from time to time.
the rods is a great mix and gives the fish a wide variety and has plankton in it. my fish seem to love it.
i always try any new frozen foods i see at the local stores but the ones i listed above are a staple.

i agree carnations are so pretty they come in so many colors too. hopefully the bio pellets will get my nitrates closer to 0 and i will try a carnation again

you know whats pretty and has a similar look to the carnation is the purple tree coral. its a lavender pink, and i had luck with it ...till i had the xenia crash a few months ago. divers den at liveaquaria carrys them from time to time

 

They are "keepable" with proper care. Just don't think for one second you'll have a tank with anything but NPS/Azoox in it if you do plan on keeping them as they need to be fed a lot and very often. The nutrient input is massive and thus requires either a greater export or the ability of you filtration to remove it. We've got quite a few members keeping them over at Azoox.com as well as the NPS forum on RC.

 

I have owned a green goniopora for about 17 months now and I have never fed it. Now, it hasn't grown much but it still looks like it's in great shape.

 

I would have to agree with your statement. I had a goni for several years with tons of growth and never fed it one time. Not all non photosynthetic coral have to be directly fed, I believe this same topic has come up today...
Everytime you clean your glass on your tank plankton is released into the water column. Additional food from feeding your fish remains in the water. Also, fish poop is a great source of food for non photosynthetic coral. Direct feeding is not always needed. I didn't say that direct feeding does not help but it is not always needed.

 

As do I for at least one species of Goniopora... but not Dendronephthya at all.

Particle size is import as is species in some cases. Most phytoplankton species are NOT on the menu for them and the ones that are aren't growing in your tank in any sufficient numbers. Diatoms grow on your glass, awesome feed for a LOT of filter feeders. They don't eat cells that large. They consume stuff in the less then 10µm range, typically in the near submicron range... ie. picoplankton.

 

The species was not listed in this case therefore you spoke as if all goniopora had to be directly fed. Hopefully you do not take the time to post my replies from this thread over to azoox as you did the other...