Gorgonian feeding in a separate container

[beez]

So I was talking to a buddy of mine who used to keep a blueberry gorgonian (he's since moved on to SPS) for feeding tips, since I'm interested in getting one. He told me that he attributed his success with this species to feeding it as follows:

When he did his weekly water change he would vacuum the detritis off the bottom of his sump into a 5 gallon bucket. He would then take the rock the gorg was attached to and place the whole thing in the bucket of dirty tank water, with a powerhead on the bottom to keep the detritis kicked up and suspended. He said the gorg would open up fully within a few minutes and he would leave it in there to feed for an hour or so while he finished cleaning. Just curious if anyone else has ever done that, or heard of that???

Seems like a good idea if it doesn't stress the coral (which he felt it didn't)...I suppose you could also do the same thing and just add food to the bucket as a way of supplementing the gorg's diet without polluting the main tank...thoughts?

[JBG]

Hmmm Id like to here more from people on this . I have a ribbon and a plume coming .

[Moloch_0]

I used to feed other animals that required heavy feeding like this. I suppose it could work but I would be concerned about exposing the gorgonian to air all the time. If your friend pulled it off it may be worth trying.

Anyone else have any experience feeding this way?

[ENraged]

Guy at my work cut the bottom off a plastic soda bottle.
he places that over the top of the gorg and shots the food through the top of the soda bottle caps it and sits back and watches the gorg snatch up all the food it wants.
when finished pulls it to the top the suction holds the left over food in place,
scoop the bottle out with a piece of Tupperware under it so the water doesnt escape next to no food has been left over.

[lvreefer]

Either spot fedding or removing to a container are excellent ways of feeding these guys. I prefer to keep them in the tank, less chance of me damaging it, and covering it with something(Moloch_0's post). DT's Oster eggs are the absolute best shelf food for feeding these guys.

[mistermikev]

hmm, I would not let my gorgs touch air. I have on occasion accidentally let a tip or two touch air and the whole thing would close up for a week. they also don't seem to like to be handled. the two liter is a good idea to concentrate the phyto... I would just release it into my tank after... got a crocea/trumpet/anemonie that would all appreciate it. Plus got a good skimmer so what is the prob?

[mistermikev]

ps if yer dead set on takin it out... use a ziplock. get some water in itand put the gorg in it while it's still under. Ziper up and go

[beez]

I like the plastic soda bottle idea!!! Do you know if your friend has to do anything after adding the food initially to keep it from settling to the bottom?

I asked my friend if taking the gorg out seemed to stress it and he said no, but I agree that its surely less stressful on the coral to keep in submerged at all times.

Anybody else with experience on this?

[dendro982]

This guy was successful in keeping photosynthetic gorgonians.
I, personally, have only non-photosynthetic one - really like the idea of the bottle top, working as suction cap.

[ENraged]

If it settles to the bottom just give it a light water burst with a turkey baster.
very little "stirring" is needed