Who Gives A Fish Forums

Honestly, I think the receding has progressed too far for a reversal to be likely. It's been a slow decline, despite my best efforts to nurse it back to health, but unfortunately, I've had no success. The receding started around a month ago and has steadily worsened. I'm aware that this is a common issue with goniopora, which isn't great. I did find a worm living with the coral, but from what I understand, it shouldn't be causing any harm. I regularly feed him reef roids and all my parameters are in check - the other corals are thriving. At night, he's retracted...

Sorry to see this happening to your goniopora. I've had similar experiences with specimens straight from the sea - it usually doesn't end well. Been there, tried my best, but still lost them. Good flow might be your best bet now, just keep your fingers crossed.

I'm no expert, but I think I see a worm on that coral, might be stressing it out. I've had pretty good luck with gonioporas in medium flow, non-direct light - usually stick 'em in a corner or back middle of the tank. I feed 'em morning doses of Red Sea Reef Energy A&B, Actipods, and Cyclopeeze flakes, and I don't shut off the wave makers while feeding, so the food gets chopped up and distributed around the tank. I'm not a fan of turkey basting my corals, by the way - what looks like a feed response is usually just the coral receding 'cause it's annoyed by the water jet.

One thing I do that might raise some eyebrows is I don't skim. Instead, I run a phosphate reactor with Chemi-pure, and I've got a homemade sump with a refugium for my plankton - that's where I dose my phytoplankton on occasion. I've also got a chamber filled with bio tubes and live rock rubble. Fish waste and protein/vitamin-rich matter are great for your corals, but phosphates are more for your plants like macro and micro algae - best to keep those under control, though, since there's usually way too much in a tank environment. You need some algae to feed your micro plankton, but that's not usually something you need to worry about.

You might want to try dipping that coral in Sea Chem Reef Dip, and even paint some of the dip on its base - it's starting to recede there. Just my two cents, take it or leave it.

I'm afraid the situation looks bleak. Maintaining optimal tank conditions is crucial, but with a receding Goniopora like this, the prospects are dim. This species, Goniopora stokesi, is notoriously challenging to keep in captivity due to its specific dietary requirements, which I believe your tank lacks.

Handling the coral is not advisable. Removing and dipping it will only exacerbate the problem, and applying substances to the exposed skeleton will likely hasten its demise due to the added stress and potential injury.

In my opinion, the root cause of your issue is a lack of proper nutrition, which will eventually lead to infection and disease. You've taken a positive step by relocating the coral off the sand bed, as I suggested earlier, to prevent smothering and edge damage. However, this may not be enough to save the coral.

Goniopora corals aren't exactly for beginners, to be honest. If you're still keen on trying another species, I'd recommend going for a well-established tank with a deep sand bed, and opting for a smaller polyp, red Goniopora instead. They seem to be hardier compared to the Goniopora stokesi, which, unfortunately, is the most common but also the most challenging to keep.

That worm's gotta go, it's probably stressing the coral out even more, try to get rid of it.

That worm's just doing its thing, it's not the problem. It's a scavenger, cleaning up what it can, and it's not bothering the goniopora.

dazed_knots wrote: ↑Wed Feb 05, 2025 2:46 am I'm afraid the situation looks bleak. Maintaining optimal tank conditions is crucial, but with a receding Goniopora like this, the prospects are dim. This species, Goniopora stokesi, is notoriously challenging to keep in captivity due to its specific dietary requirements, which I believe your tank lacks.

Handling the coral is not advisable. Removing and dipping it will only exacerbate the problem, and applying substances to the exposed skeleton will likely hasten its demise due to the added stress and potential injury.

In my opinion, the root cause of your issue is a lack of proper nutrition, which will eventually lead to infection and disease. You've taken a positive step by relocating the coral off the sand bed, as I suggested earlier, to prevent smothering and edge damage. However, this may not be enough to save the coral.

I'm in agreement with this. Dipping's just gonna speed up the inevitable. I've had some luck with the red Goniopora, they're definitely more resilient. The Stokesi are a real showstopper with their large polyps and flowy appearance when they're healthy, but they're notoriously finicky. I've lost a few to clownfish hosting, ironically, but managed to keep one going for almost a year before my carpet anemone decided to make a break for it.

euclid worm that's what's on my goniopora, just like the one you pulled off flintix9t's last week. I'm hoping it's not the culprit behind my coral's decline.