Goniopora: Daisy or Flowerpot Coral
Family: Poritidae Genus: Goniopora
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| My cluster of four goniopora species growing on one rock. The lower left head is reacting to being moved for photographic purposes. |
Thank you for the opportunity to be the first Uberfrags Coral of the Month! I have decided to feature my Goniopora collection. These corals have often been labeled as "impossible to keep" in most aquariums. I will try and mix a little of what the "experts have said" in with what I have found that works for me. At the end of the article are some useful links to information I have found on Gonioporas.
I obtained my first Goniopora back in October of 2005 from Rod's Reef. I was still a newbie and did not research the coral before I purchased it. Lucky for me it was a dark red Goniopora and they tend to be the bit hardier of the genus. I still have that first one in my collection. I picked up my second Goniopora from Aquatic Reef in October of 2006 and it is a light pink with purple tips. In addition, I picked up my largest specimen, which has 4 separate heads of a different shade of pink color on one rock, from Downtown Pets in January of 2007. That piece brought my collection to six different Gonioporas.
Coral Overview
Goniopora spp. "daisy" or "flowerpot" corals have been common imports from Indonesia and other coral-collecting regions since the early years of the reef-keeping hobby. Alveopora spp. are less-frequently harvested relatives of Goniopora spp. These distinct genera are often grouped together by aquarists because they have similarly elongate polyps with daisy-like heads. The difference is that the petal-like tentacles in Goniopora number 24 and in Alveopora there are just 12. (Julian Sprung)
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| During the photo session, my Tomini Tang decided to start picking in the general area of this Gonopoa,i causing it to retract. I thought it was a great opportunity to show the skeletal structure of the coral as well as the 24 distinct petals and the purple tips of this specimen. |
In reviewing numerous articles on this coral, it is most likely wrong to generalize that all Goniopora are difficult to keep. Please do note that this is not a beginner's coral and is better left at the LFS than in your tank if you have not done your homework on its requirements. As Fin and Feather states in the Advanced Aquarist Online Magazine, "dozens of people around the country and the world have been successful with these corals for many years, some as long as nine years and longer. The ability to share with fellow aquarists frags from these long-term colonies will help ensure the establishment of captive strains of Goniopora . Many people have also successfully grown daughter colonies dropped by the parent colony." With that being said, I believe the future of keeping Gonioporas in our reef aquariums will become a reality for the many that admire this coral.
The range of desired flow, food, and light needs differs among the many species of Goniopora . Some grow quite large and a mature colony may look like a colony of Porites from a distance. Others have short polyps and are encrusting. Still others are free living on soft substrates.
The different species have polyps of different shapes and colors which allow them to be identified underwater.
Placement
Many state that more success is found with placement on the substrate. It is not the substrate itself that benefits the coral, but the less-intense water flow and less-direct light. I have kept the pinks in the substrate, but the dark red one has been placed up near the top on my rocks when I had less lighting and it was not hit with direct flow. All of my Goniopora's currently reside in my substrate and that is where they will stay due to my lighting and flow. They are located just 24 in. from (2) 250-W metal-halide lights with 20K XM bulbs. I also supplement with daylight VHOs. The tank was also originally set up as an SPS tank, so it also has moderate to high flow with a Tunze 6000. The first link listed below is to the Advance Aquarist, which has detailed information for each variety of Goniopora and its placement for light and flow.
Feeding
I currently do not target feed my Goniopora's. I feed daily with Rod's Food which has small foods that the Goniopora eats such as Cyclop-eeze, rotifers and DT's oyster eggs. I also dose a capful of DT's Live Marine Phytoplankton-Premium Reef Blend every other day. I also try and feed live baby brine shrimp every other week.
I do have a jar of DT's oyster eggs in the freezer just waiting to be used. Per DT's website: " Corals for which this food is particularly useful are those with poor prey capture responses and those with very small polyps. Included are Porites , Montipora , Goniopora , gorgonians, soft corals. The oyster eggs even show success with the maintenance of previously difficult or impossible to maintain azooxanthellate soft corals and seafans.
DT's Live Marine Phytoplankton - Premium Reef Blend naturally provides needed nutrition for your reef inhabitants, through both directly feeding some reef inhabitants and indirectly feeding others by increasing their food supply. There is evidence that soft corals, along with Goniopora and gorgonians may also benefit from the direct consumption of phytoplankton."
I also run a 70-gal refugium with a deep sand bed and the use of these methods also encourage the growth of a variety of small zooplankton and plankton-producing organisms (by spawning, larvae in water column).
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| The red Goniopora is generally considered to be the hardier species in the genus. |
System Overview
I run my tank a bit cleaner than many recommend for Gonioporas. As I stated earlier, my tank was originally set up as an SPS tank, so there is bright lighting, high flow, and clean water! The corals are kept in a 92-gal. corner tank on the first floor and the rest of the system runs through the floor down to the basement fishroom where there is a 70-gal. Rubbermaid refugium and a 70-gal. Rubbermaid sump that is filled to the 40-gal. level. My total system runs approximately 200 gal. through it. I run an ASM G3 skimmer and do weekly 10% water changes. Since I also keep SPS and LPS, the parameters are kept to meet their needs.
References
Following are references that were used for the information above as well as useful links that provide more information about growing Gonioporas in your own reef tank:
www.advancedaquarist.com/2005/10/aafeature2#h1
www.goniopora.org
Veron, J.E.N. 2000. Corals of the World . Australian Institute for Marine Science, Townsville. 3 Volumes. Pages 348-379.
www.dtplankton.com
Sprung, Julian. 2002. Captive husbandry of Goniopora spp. with remarks about the similar genus Alveopora , Advanced Aquarist's Online Magazine, December 2002.