Purple Gorgonian or Purple Sea Whip

[steelhealr]

Nano tanks are too small for sea fans in general. However, I wanted to see if I could support some type of them. Many of the sea fans and gorgonians are not photosynthetic and must be fed. In a nano tank, the amount needed to keep them healthy is probably enough to keep your nitrates up.

After researching, I found that the Purple Sea Whip is photosynthetic but can be difficult to keep. It wasn't expensive, so, I thought I'd give it a shot. So far, my gorgonian has been alive for more than a month. Unfortunately, survival rates in marine systems are usually measured in longer amounts, so , the jury is still out.

My tank is run under stock lighting, which, if you go by the archaic watts/gallon measurement, puts my tank at 'moderate' lighting (probably low moderate). Similar to SPS, there has been some mild 'brown out', however, all polyps are fully extended as you can see in the lower pic and the gorgonian has remained mostly purple. Thought it might be of interest. SH

 

[billa_bong]

i was thinking of purchasing one of those in my 90gallon in the next week or two. i have 2 x 250 watts lighting plus 4 diff powerheads (1500 gph, 600 gph, 2 x 295gph) so i think i should have enuf water flow and lighting to support one

mainly i liked it cuz how tall it is, i need some to grow tall in the corners.

with my WPG rating im at 5.5 (metal halides) you think that would be enuf for one of those bad boys.?

 

[steelhealr]

Hi...I think so. My purple gorgonian is in the path of my Hydor Flo and also under continuous flow from another pump, ie, high flow. It leans in the flow. They are upposed to be in high flow to prevent algae from collecting on them. SH

 

[steelhealr]

Update. My purple gorgonian slowly began to get covered with a fine 'mane' of dark green algae. Previously, it was only on the tips and I snipped these off. That seemed to do the trick and it appeared to resolve. However, it recurred last week and covered about 70% of the branches. The gorgonian is kept under high flow rate, actually leaning under the flow. They are supposed to be kept this way.

Despite this the polyps closed and failed to come out as the algae progressed. Like many of you, I'm still new to this game but I hit the books and decided to try a recommendation. Last night, during my tank maintenance, I pulled the gorgonian out into a containter of aquarium water and gently scrubbed it down. I then gave it a FW dip in equal temp RO/DI water for 60 seconds and the returned it to the tank. Well wouldn't you know it ...... the polyps are opening today and the gorg has maintained it's purple color. Amazing. SH

 

[Navarre]

Hi SH,
Gorgonians and seawhips can be notoriously difficult to maintain in a tank. This is partly due to the way they grow in the wild. In open waters they grow in a specific shape that maximises their polps exposure to the current in the water. WHen they are harvested of course there is no way of telling where they should be placed in a tank to achieve the same flow that its polyps enjoyed in the wild.

I would suggest that you move it from the high flow as this is not exactly how they are found in the wild. They are used to a turbulant backward forward motion rather than a constant high pressure flow against their stems. Therefore cani suggest that you try and create an area of turbulance so the seawhip had high flow all around it rather than on 1 side?

I also noticed the colouration of the polyps...
I am not as clued up on seawhips as i am with gorgonians but i if you have a gorgonian with "white" polyps then its not a light requiring creature and needs low light condition and large amounts of planktonic foods as thisis all they eat.
If the gorgoniabn has brown or coloured polyps then it is a light feeder and these are usually easier to care for. If the same is true with yours then it requires a darker area and loads of food as they are voracious predators. This can be achieved of course but in a small system do be watchful over the nutrient levels in your tank.

The reason it might be getting a coating of algae on it is because it has no way of fighting it off. In deeper water where there is little light there is no risk of the seawhip getting an algae coating.

 

[Mr Miagi]

Any update SteelHealr? I would love to hear how your finding things now.
Pitty u were not closer, or i would request a frag swap!

 

[steelhealr]

Sure..since doing the FW dip, the gorgonian has not had any recurrence and has really bounced back. Here are some updated photos:

 

[RoyalGrammaPrincessHannah]

Well, this looks stunningly similar to mine, a purple ribbon gorg and from my research, they need moderate lighting, good water flow and are pretty hardy. I brought mine home and all its polyps were out within 10 minutes.

 

[steelhealr]

Actually, they are 'rated' as difficult to keep. They DO require very high flow tho' to keep healthy. My only problem is keeping it from falling over. SH

 

[RoyalGrammaPrincessHannah]

Yeah I found this really cool heart shaped [symmetrical] rock with a nice opening in the middle for it to sit in, they recommend that you have something to hold it up. My friend also has one of these guys and finds his is easy to keep healthy also. Plus one of my books rates it as a 7 out of 10 for hardiness. O well its all opinions n e way.