Colorful gorgonians are one of my favorite corals to keep in the reef aquarium, because they add such interest and the colors are so vivid. We have been very lucky to have a great intern named Curtis with us for the last two years. In three weeks Curtis will be graduating from GARF and headed to Hawaii for four years of study in marine biology. The good news is that he will be propagating dozens of brilliantly colored gorgonians combo plugs this week.

Out of all the soft corals we propagate here at GARF, one of the groups we have had the most success with are the Gorgonians. We do our work with two families of the order Gorgonacea. Genus such as Eunicia, Swiftia, and Plexaurella are found in the family Anthothelidae. The family Gorgoniidae is represented by various genus including Gorgonia, Pseudopterogorgia, and Ptergorgia. Some Gorgonians, such as Swiftia, require feeding, but most are photosynthetic making them a beautiful, easy to keep soft coral.

Not only are these corals a wonderful addition to a reef system, but they are also being researched for their anti-inflammitory and anti-tumor properties. Many Gorgonians are being used now for medical and cosmetic products.

This article will teach you how to grow Gorgonians and we will give you the basic steps of gorgonian propagation. The gorgonian being propagated in this article are all members of the Order Gorgonacea. THIS PICTURE SHOWS TWO MORE SPECIES OF GORGONIANS THAT WE PROPAGATE. Muricea sulphurea - Spiny Gorgonian The small Gorgonian on the left is called the Spiny Gorgonian; it is Muricea sulphurea from Florida. The Muricea are very hardy and they often survive to grow into colonies. This Gorgonian feels very rough and it can sting other corals. This coral is easy to propagate and it is popular in the reef hobby. Plexaurella grandiflora - Slit-pore sea rod The fuzzy Gorgonian in the middle is Plexaurella grandiflora and it is called the Slit-pore sea rod. This Gorgonian has wonderful polyps and cuttings look like small Pacific Ocean soft corals from the species Sinnularia. This species is soft to the touch like Pseudoplexaura ssp. and it grows very fast. This species has been at GARF for several years and it is the only Gorgonian that we have trim because it is shading other corals. We often mount several species of Gorgonians on one Reef PlugTM and each coral can be seperated from the others after they start to grow. We have grown many of these mixed Reef PlugsTM for several semesters with no indication of damage to the corals. This image shows the great mix of colors that are available as part of our soft coral packages. Gorgonians can grow very close together because they don't have very potent defenses against other corals. Many people buy our gorgonian plugs and they make cuttings from them so they can have groups of gorgonians in other parts of their reef. These gorgonians are growing on plastic reef racks that have one inch holes drilled in them. We use these reef racks when we want to grow a group of corals that can be moved from one tank to another tank. Muriceopsis flavida - Spiny Gorgonian These spiny Gorgonians are very hardy and they come in several colors. We are growing both pink and yellow. You can see in the detail disk that these Gorgonians have sharp spines that point up and it is easy to tell the proper direction to mount cuttings because you can easily pull the cuttings through your finger and thumb when you are pulling it from the bottom of the cutting. These corals do best when they are placed in strong water flow. They can catch food as it is swept past them in the current. They are easy to feed on crushed flake food and frozen brine shrimp. It is important to supply good illumination to all of the photosynthetic Gorgonians. This group of Gorgonians is very easy to propagate and they do not need to have any of the tissue removed before they are glued to the rock. Several colors of this genus can be grown together with no damage to them. These corals are often damaged by storms and fragmentation is a natural method of reproduction. Eunicea succinea - Candelabrum Gorgonian These corals tend to be brown with knobby projections when they are closed. These are some of the most common Gorgonians that are sold in pet shops. The problem with ocean collected specimens is that they are often damaged, and that damage can cause an infection that kills the entire coral in less than 24 hours. Captive raised Candelabrums are very hardy because they are not as likely to be damaged when they are shipped. We have grown some of this genus for over 5 years and like many corals they become more hardy as they are cloned in captivity. Much of our future research will include DNA studies of the internal symbionts that are so important to the growth of photosynthetic corals. This group of Gorgonians do not need to be fed, but they grow much better when there is some food for them to consume. This is often fish waste that is swept up in the strong water current that these corals thrive in. In our grow out tanks we often add one extra power head that is on a lamp timer so that it is on for 30 minutes and then off for 30 minutes. Hello, Each of these links show you one half of the 30 gallon color reef that we use to grow predatory Gorgonians and other soft corals that need to be fed. Please e-mail us if you like these larger pictures so we can make our site more enjoyable and educational. LeRoy SEE A LARGE PICTURES OF THE LEFT END OF THE COLOR REEF FOR YOUR DESKTOP WALLPAPER :) SEE A LARGE PICTURES OF THE RIGHT END OF THE COLOR REEF FOR YOUR DESKTOP WALLPAPER :) MATERIALS - pair of scissors, scalpel, or razor blade - wire stripping pliers - two large bowls of tank water ( remember to change the water periodically because of the temperature change) - AragocreteTM plugs or small reef safe rocks - drill press or hand held drill - 3/16 inch or 1/4 inch cement drill bit - GARF reef glue or Styrofoam* STEP 1 - Drilling the Holes Use a drill press or hand held drill with a 13/16 inch or 1/4 inch cement bit to make a hole in the plug or rock. The depth of the hole should range from 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch maximum. Wash plugs in tap water to remove excess dust and particles. Some people use a Dremil tool to drill holes, but we have found that a small drill press works very well. Start your holes very slowly and allow the drill bit to do the work. We have been drilling three holes in our Reef Plugs so we can mount several types of Gorgonians on each plug. These separate Gorgonians are glued into the holes so that they fan out from the center. This allows the Gorgonians to mature before they are separated for mounting in their own part of the reef aquarium. STEP 2 - Making the First Cuts You can plan your cuttings so that each piece has a nice shape by leaving small branches on some of the cuttings and by making unbranched pieces longer. Cut off pieces of your mother colony, into a large bowl with tank water. The size of the cutting does not matter, but if you are planning to ship these cuttings, larger ones require more water and are therefore more expensive to ship. Scissors work the best for this step, but a scalpel or razor will work just fine. We always cut collected Gorgonians so that there are several short branches left on the base. These bases are glued into our brood stock systems. Each of the branches we left on the base soon grow new stalks that can cut later. STEP 3 - Removal of Tissue When you are cutting brown photosynthetic Gorgonians you can use your wire strippers to remove 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch of the coenchyme (tissue) leaving the hard central axis. This exposed axis offers a stronger bond with the reef gel than the tissue would. We have also seen that some Genus such as Plexaurella will develop an infection if the reef gel is covering the coenchyme. The small pieces of left over tissue can be scattered over the substrate in your tank. We have observed some of these pieces attach and begin to grow. We have been using the wire stripping pliers for several semesters and they work very well for this job. The pliers seem to do less damage to the tissue we remove and more of them start to grow in the gravel.    STEP 4 - Attaching the Cutting Using the reef glue, fill in the hole of your plug or rock completely. Next place the exposed axis of your cutting into the glue filled hole. Dip the cutting and plug into your second bowl of tank water and hold under water for 10 seconds or until there is a firm bond. Your first gorgonian cutting is now complete. Remember to place the plug in an area with strong current and moderate light. If the cutting is not doing well in one spot, and this goes for all corals, move it each week until it finds a place it likes. IMPORTANT NOTE It is very important to dip any glued cutting in reef water as soon as possible. Reef glue heats as it cures and the tissue can be burned. We dip all cuttings in bowls of reef water as soon as we attach the coral. The glue also seals the cuttings so very few of them get any type of infection. Notice the branches we left on this cutting. These branches make it very easy to tell the top of the coral. When you have many non-branching cuttings it can be hard to tell which end should go up. You can run the cutting lightly through your fingers. The polyps point upward, so the coral will feel smooth when you are pulling the base of the coral down. Glue the end down that feels like it is easy to pull through your fingers. *Note - You can substitute the reef glue with Styrofoam Cut a small piece of foam and wedge it in the hole against the exposed axis of your cutting. Although this is an inexpensive method, we have had much better long term success using the reef glue. Some people use epoxy to attach his cuttings to the rocks. We have found that we can complete many more cuttings with super glue in the the same time. One good thing about Epoxy is that it will hold the cuttings in place better if you are shipping them a few days after they are glued. The super glue is more brittle and it is better to wait until the Gorgonian starts to grow down onto the rock before you ship it. REMEMBER - SAVE A REEF - GROW YOUR OWN FOR THE LAST 5 YEARS WE HAVE WORKED VERY HARD TO PURCHASE, TRADE, AND SAVE AS MANY TYPES OF CORALS AS WE CAN. IF YOU WANT TO PURCHASE SOME OF SALLY JO'S GREAT NEW CUTTINGS PLEASE CALL TOLL FREE 1-800-600-6163 We are having a special on all of the coral cuttings. WHEN YOU PURCHASE 5 AT THE REGULAR PRICE OF $100 WE WILL GIVE YOU TWO FREE CORALS!. We will continue to provide the most current data on reef farming for both education and profit. For us to fill your order, please enter your name, E-mail and phone numbers and WE WILL CALL YOU SO YOU CAN CHOOSE FROM THE MANY CORALS WE GROW FOR OUR RESEARCH We will also get a shipping date. We will check your mailing address and payment information. Thank you!! Alternatively, you may also print out and either mail or fax your order to 208-344-6189 REEF JANITOR ORDER FORM GREAT GARF SPECIAL - WITH EACH ORDER YOU CAN PICK ONE AVAILABLE CORAL FOR FREE We will custom mix your Reef JanitorsTM from our great mix of algae eating snails and hermits. PLEASE SEND ME Red Leg Hermit Crabs for -- $2.98 each, plus shipping and handling algae eating snails for -- $2.98 each, plus shipping and handling Garf GrungeTM live sand activator for -- $5.00 per lb., plus shipping and handling 30 GALLON REEF Forty five reef janitors for only $1.00 each. -- $45.00, plus shipping and handling 50 GALLON REEF Eighty two reef janitors for only $1.00 each -- $82.00, plus shipping and handling 100 GALLON REEF One hundred fifty reef janitors for only $1.00 each. -- $150.00, plus shipping and handling For us to fill your order, please enter your name, E-mail and phone numbers and we will call you to take down the size of your aquarium so we can help you order the proper mixture of reef janitors and Garf Grunge. We will ask for your mailing address and payment information. Thank you!! Alternatively, you may also print out and either mail or fax your order to 208-344-6189