Righty guys so the next additon to the NPS care pack is upon us and today we will look at the Mennella gorgonian
these are a truly amazing coral to keep, very varied and super colourful and IMO one of the easier NPS gorgonians to keep. they require regular feeding of zooplankton or plankton-analogues in the 5 - 800 μm size range.
if the coral is healthy it will grow up from the tips AND encrust its base, A continuous feeding system (dry or liquid) will yield the best results as the polyps should stay open almost all the time.
the coral needs high but random flow to prevent a build up of algae as this will prevent the polyps from expanding, this gorgonian also slimes up, this coating can be removed with a good shake or a bit of turkey baster action.
the mennella isnt photosenstive and will open any time of day.
as with most gorgonians it is senstive to water conditions but not so much as lets say LPS.
mennella gorgonians can be fragged but there is a particular way of doing so ( as with all gorgonians)
cut of the piece of coral you intend to be the frag, at its base strip about an inch of flesh from the gorgonians skeleton, glue the skeleton into a frag plug without covering the flesh. if the flesh is covered it will rot and die, this can kill an entire colony if not sorted out. a healthy coral will re-encrust its new base quite quickly.
these are a truly amazing coral to keep, very varied and super colourful and IMO one of the easier NPS gorgonians to keep. they require regular feeding of zooplankton or plankton-analogues in the 5 - 800 μm size range.
if the coral is healthy it will grow up from the tips AND encrust its base, A continuous feeding system (dry or liquid) will yield the best results as the polyps should stay open almost all the time.
the coral needs high but random flow to prevent a build up of algae as this will prevent the polyps from expanding, this gorgonian also slimes up, this coating can be removed with a good shake or a bit of turkey baster action.
the mennella isnt photosenstive and will open any time of day.
as with most gorgonians it is senstive to water conditions but not so much as lets say LPS.
mennella gorgonians can be fragged but there is a particular way of doing so ( as with all gorgonians)
cut of the piece of coral you intend to be the frag, at its base strip about an inch of flesh from the gorgonians skeleton, glue the skeleton into a frag plug without covering the flesh. if the flesh is covered it will rot and die, this can kill an entire colony if not sorted out. a healthy coral will re-encrust its new base quite quickly.
