diodogorgia nodulifera feeding frequency

[reddogf5]

I have a sea rod that came with my live rock. At first it had its polyps out most of the time. Now, they are rarely out, and it is usually only a few at a time. I try to feed it when they are out, and usually more will extend.
So, any idea whether it is happy, or on the brink of starvation? I would think if it was hungry, its polyps would be out all the time, but it can not be normal to go for days to weeks without eating. Also, is there any trick to get them to feed? Thanks.

[The Reef Expert]

I would make sure it has good lighting, optimum flow (they thrive in natural wave conditions) and try an array of foods, Nutramar ogo, tigrio live pods, live nauplii, marine snow, Zooplankton suspension, Phytoplankton suspension, and other filter feeder foods like microvore.

[uhuru]

They close when there is not enough food in the water, lighting has no part in this. If you maintain a constant supply of food they stay open 90% of the time. Aside from continuous feeding, the ideal feeding frequency would be every 1-2 hours if you want them to stay open.

[reddogf5]

Every hour isn't going to happen. Can I keep it alive feeding once or twice a day, or is it doomed (which I fear is the answer)?

[uhuru]

Most likely doomed. Maybe you can offer it to someone local here for free?

[rowjimmy]

They close when there is not enough food in the water, lighting has no part in this. If you maintain a constant supply of food they stay open 90% of the time. Aside from continuous feeding, the ideal feeding frequency would be every 1-2 hours if you want them to stay open.

+1 They are non-photosynthetic gorgonians so lighting is not an issue. If you have algae problems keep it in a shaded area or the branches will quickly become covered in algae. IME like uhuru stated unless they have a constant supply of food in the water they tend to close up.

The longer they stay closed the more they starve. Then you end up seeing the tips of the branches and base start to recede after time. Algae starts to creep in and the coral ends up wasting away.

I'm lucky I live where I work, so I can dose my tank manually/regularly/hourly if I have to. Like uhuru said maybe you can find someone local who is set up better to care for it, so it doesn't have to be "doomed". They are beautiful corals...here is a few shots of mine:

[uhuru]

beautiful shots rowjimmy! have you ever showed us an FTS?

[rowjimmy]

Thanks uhuru. No I never posted a FTS. My tank isn't a full blown NPC system it's mixed, so I didn't think it would be appropriate for this forum.

I don't consider my tank done, and I'm always trying to improve on it. And I have the space left in the system to do so. Never really thought my tank was worthy of a full tank shot at the moment...cause i'm not done with it yet. My camera sux...but here is a current FTS since you asked:

[uhuru]

Great job so far! Looks clean.

[Western_reefer]

Wow! Beautiful tank!! How many gallons is it?

[rowjimmy]

Thanks guys ....Western it is a standard 75 gallon tank.

[stormrider27]

+3, it's worthy! :thumbsup:

[rowjimmy]

Thanks stormrider27!