Johnny Jensen, Dänemark
Info
Plexaura homomalla (Esper, 1794)
The Black Sea Rod Plexaura homomalla forms a bushy or candelabra-like colony of upright branches. It has a tendency to branch in a single plane with a few dichotomous forks, but mostly bears lateral branches. It grows to a height of about 35 cm and has two forms:
Plexaura homomalla forma kuekenthali is taller and slimmer, with narrow terminal branches, and Plexaura homomalla forma homomalla is shorter with more robust terminal branches.
Plexaura homomalla is found growing on reefs in the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, and Florida. It grows at depths down to about 55 m with P. h.forma homomalla being more abundant in shallow waters and P. h.forma kuekenthali occurring mostly at greater depths.
Plexaura homomalla contains a high level of the lipid prostaglandin A. The prostaglandin produced by the coral seems to offer a chemical defence and act as a deterrent to predatory fishes.
Recommendation - the coral should be kept in a species-specific tank.
Feeding
Gorgonians do not have zooxanthellae and do not live off light. Azooxanthellate gorgonians do not host symbiotic algae that produce nutrients and energy through photosynthesis.
The pumps should be switched off before feeding. In order for the gorgonian to survive in the aquarium, each individual polyp must be fed sufficiently, i.e. daily or 3-4 times a week. Without feeding, the gorgonian will not survive in the aquarium. The polyps need a certain amount of time to absorb the food (granules or dust food (Ultramarin, Cyclop Eeze) or frozen food (lobster eggs, mysis)). If shrimp and fish are present, they will try to steal the food, so it is essential to feed these cohabitants beforehand.
Newly introduced gorgonian sticks can be stimulated with a liquid food, e.g., PolypLab Polyp, to encourage the individual polyps to open. Only then can feeding be carried out.
The better the individual polyps take up the food provided, the better the growth and reproduction rates will be.
Azooxanthellate corals eat suspensions, marine snow, microplankton, and other organic matter, which is their natural food.
Synonymised names:
Eunicea humosa (Esper, 1794)
Gorgonia homomalla Esper, 1794
Gorgonia humosa Esper, 1794
Plexaura homomalla f. homomalla (Esper, 1794)
Plexaura macrocythara Lamouroux, 1816
Plexauropsis tricolor Stiasny, 1935
Direct children (2):
Forma Plexaura homomalla f. homomalla Esper, 1794 accepted as Plexaura homomalla (Esper, 1794) (synonymy)
Forma Plexaura homomalla f. kukenthali Moser, 1921 accepted as Plexaura kukenthali Moser, 1921 (synonymy)
The Black Sea Rod Plexaura homomalla forms a bushy or candelabra-like colony of upright branches. It has a tendency to branch in a single plane with a few dichotomous forks, but mostly bears lateral branches. It grows to a height of about 35 cm and has two forms:
Plexaura homomalla forma kuekenthali is taller and slimmer, with narrow terminal branches, and Plexaura homomalla forma homomalla is shorter with more robust terminal branches.
Plexaura homomalla is found growing on reefs in the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, and Florida. It grows at depths down to about 55 m with P. h.forma homomalla being more abundant in shallow waters and P. h.forma kuekenthali occurring mostly at greater depths.
Plexaura homomalla contains a high level of the lipid prostaglandin A. The prostaglandin produced by the coral seems to offer a chemical defence and act as a deterrent to predatory fishes.
Recommendation - the coral should be kept in a species-specific tank.
Feeding
Gorgonians do not have zooxanthellae and do not live off light. Azooxanthellate gorgonians do not host symbiotic algae that produce nutrients and energy through photosynthesis.
The pumps should be switched off before feeding. In order for the gorgonian to survive in the aquarium, each individual polyp must be fed sufficiently, i.e. daily or 3-4 times a week. Without feeding, the gorgonian will not survive in the aquarium. The polyps need a certain amount of time to absorb the food (granules or dust food (Ultramarin, Cyclop Eeze) or frozen food (lobster eggs, mysis)). If shrimp and fish are present, they will try to steal the food, so it is essential to feed these cohabitants beforehand.
Newly introduced gorgonian sticks can be stimulated with a liquid food, e.g., PolypLab Polyp, to encourage the individual polyps to open. Only then can feeding be carried out.
The better the individual polyps take up the food provided, the better the growth and reproduction rates will be.
Azooxanthellate corals eat suspensions, marine snow, microplankton, and other organic matter, which is their natural food.
Synonymised names:
Eunicea humosa (Esper, 1794)
Gorgonia homomalla Esper, 1794
Gorgonia humosa Esper, 1794
Plexaura homomalla f. homomalla (Esper, 1794)
Plexaura macrocythara Lamouroux, 1816
Plexauropsis tricolor Stiasny, 1935
Direct children (2):
Forma Plexaura homomalla f. homomalla Esper, 1794 accepted as Plexaura homomalla (Esper, 1794) (synonymy)
Forma Plexaura homomalla f. kukenthali Moser, 1921 accepted as Plexaura kukenthali Moser, 1921 (synonymy)
