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Goniopora Troubleshooting:
Being able to troubleshoot
problems with Goniopora and working through the problems
step by step is the key to keeping them. As many of
you already know, Goniopora has consistently maintained
a low survival rate in captivity for years even though
the saltwater hobby has advanced in knowledge and
technology. In previous attempts to solve the problem
of keeping Goniopora, researchers have often referred
to a "mystery", or a missing link, or a
missing element, or a mysterious bacteria, or a lack
of a proper food source as a root cause of their overall
decline. What I have found is that there isn't a single
"mystery" or a single missing link, but
that it is a collective of complications which create
multiple problems and compound problems that need
to be identified, worked through, and set in order.
Shown below are two "Maps"of potential problems that can occur with Goniopora. Over the course of my research, I have studied these problems and documented the order in which Goniopora decline from a single cause. The first image is a "Map of Goniopora Wasting". It contains 5 main entry points. These points can occur singularly or several at one time. Not only can the problems occur simultaneously, but they can also produce the same symptoms and/or behavior, which is the reason it has been so difficult to pin down the Goniopora "Mystery". The "Map of Goniopora Wasting"also shows how the Major Problems interconnect with each other to produce the same symptoms and/or behavior. Pretty amazing huh?
The second image is a map of "Minor Goniopora Problems". These are mostly irritations that can either be temporary or quickly corrected before they negatively affect the coral in a major way. Ignoring some of the Minor Goniopora Problems can eventually lead to Major Goniopora Problems.
All of the Major and Minor Goniopora Problems can be reversed with the proper treatment being administered in the proper order. I have not taken the time to write this out for the web site, but it is documented in my 2006 International Marine Aquarium Conference (IMAC) video. Much of this information has been addressed in regards to questions asked in the Goniopora Forum. Also, please visit the "Troubled
Specimens " section of the Photo
Gallery to see reference photos of different Goniopora
problems.
There are a large number
of problems with keeping Goniopora that can avoided
by first following the advice in the "Pre-Purchase
Inspection" section and the "Acclimation"
section.
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