User:Hvallier/Goniopora

Goniopora is a type of coral that is found in lagoons and very turbid water conditions. Goniopora always has 24 tentacles that have the capability of stinging and there are usually 24 polyps, which are the fleshy endings, coming out of the tentacles. Goniopora also live in colonies close to one another.

Care
Goniopora is a very difficult type of coral to keep alive and is not reccommended for the starting out coral breeder. The short greenish colored coral are less sturdy and durable which makes it much harder to keep alive than the pink and purple corals. However, it is very seldom that either of these types of color will last longer than 12 weeks and usually last a much shorter amount of time than that.

Keeping Goniopora in a tank
To keep Goniopora in a tank there are many precautions that must be taken. First, they must have moderate to high lighting because they are very sensitive to the kind of light that they are receiving in the tank. They must also have some water movement so their polyps will be able to move freely in the water however, it should not be directed right at the polyps or the movement might be to vigorous. There is also a set temperature that must be kept which is between 77 degrees ferenheight and 84 degrees ferenheight. Chemicals such as calcium and iron in the tank must also be kept at a moderate rate to help skeletal development. Placement in the tank is also crucial. They must be perfectly positioned on a sturdy rock because if they suffer a fall they rarely survive or recuperate. When placing Goniopora it is important to keep in mind that they get larger after they start growing and should be placed somewhere that their tentacles will be able to grow without touching any other rocks or corals that can damage them. These types of coral come from all different enviornments and water types so it is best to place the Goniopora in the tank and then see how it is doing over the next few days and if it seems to be shriveling up you need to re-place the coral to a different lighting in the tank.