Bernardpora Corals

duberii · Jan 3, 2021

I just bought a Goniopora stutchburyi aka Bernardpora- I was just wondering if anybody had any tips/tricks, and if anybody knows how to get them to elongate their stalks to look like a goni. I have heard they are very adaptable, so hopefully, it'll be easier to keep than the gonis I have tried (and inevitably failed) to keep. I have read that they like high light, which may help extend their stalks, though I haven't found any real accounts of that happening beyond one article briefly mentioning it. Does anybody have any experience with them?

carmodpg · Jan 4, 2021

I had one about a year ago, but I lost it when I had to move my tank to a new home. I found that it really was easier to care for than a goni as long as I feed it a couple times a week. I put mine in the sand, so it didnt receive a lot of PAR, but as you mentioned, these are supposed to be hardier corals that can handle higher PAR. If its healthy and feed regularly, it should be fine and do well.

duberii · Jan 10, 2021

carmodpg said:
I had one about a year ago, but I lost it when I had to move my tank to a new home. I found that it really was easier to care for than a goni as long as I feed it a couple times a week. I put mine in the sand, so it didnt receive a lot of PAR, but as you mentioned, these are supposed to be hardier corals that can handle higher PAR. If its healthy and feed regularly, it should be fine and do well.

Did the polyps extend off the skeleton, or did they stay pretty tight to the skeleton? I've seen some beautiful colonies where the stalks stay pretty short then there are a few with super long stalks and I think that is super interesting.

How did you feed? I tried feeding using reef roids but I really don't know what to do. Should I keep the reef roids suspended in the water or should I let it settle on the coral?

carmodpg · Jan 13, 2021

duberii said:
Did the polyps extend off the skeleton, or did they stay pretty tight to the skeleton? I've seen some beautiful colonies where the stalks stay pretty short then there are a few with super long stalks and I think that is super interesting.

How did you feed? I tried feeding using reef roids but I really don't know what to do. Should I keep the reef roids suspended in the water or should I let it settle on the coral?

Honestly, it was hit or miss with the polyps. Some days they would extend a decent amount off the skeleton and I would be surprised to see how far they could stretch. However, a clear majority of the time the polyps remained relatively close to the skeleton.

As for feeding, I would turn the pump and powerheads off and baste it with a little reef roids. I would also try to send some mysis its way when I was feeding other corals and fish in the tank as well. Further, if you dose AB+, I would mix a little with water from the tank and spot feed it as well. I think red sea recommends 3ml of saltwater per 1 ml of AB+.

duberii · Jan 13, 2021

carmodpg said:
Honestly, it was hit or miss with the polyps. Some days they would extend a decent amount off the skeleton and I would be surprised to see how far they could stretch. However, a clear majority of the time the polyps remained relatively close to the skeleton.

As for feeding, I would turn the pump and powerheads off and baste it with a little reef roids. I would also try to send some mysis its way when I was feeding other corals and fish in the tank as well. Further, if you dose AB+, I would mix a little with water from the tank and spot feed it as well. I think red sea recommends 3ml of saltwater per 1 ml of AB+.

This is the type of behavior I was referencing when I talked about a few longer tentacles. perhaps they are sweepers? You can see most of them are decently short but a few of them are super long like some of those really long gonis. Mine at the moment is looking more like something like a porites coral, with the polys not even showing a stalk at all.

As for feeding, I fed mine the other day with some reef roids, and it does seem like they eat with their mouths. the polyps pull up close to the skeleton and open their mouths- I couldn't sit around long enough to watch them consume the food, but I assume they were doing so and doing so through their mouths. I may try out something like AB+ soon, so I'll try feeding it directly to it. Thank you for your help!

stephen wyard · Feb 4, 2022

I found that both kinds of gonis like a lower level of light and a low flow area.I would whatch the video on reef builders jake exsplains both types and his exsperiences with them I found it very interesting highly reccommend this.

stephen wyard · Feb 4, 2022

duberii said:
I just bought a Goniopora stutchburyi aka Bernardpora- I was just wondering if anybody had any tips/tricks, and if anybody knows how to get them to elongate their stalks to look like a goni. I have heard they are very adaptable, so hopefully, it'll be easier to keep than the gonis I have tried (and inevitably failed) to keep. I have read that they like high light, which may help extend their stalks, though I haven't found any real accounts of that happening beyond one article briefly mentioning it. Does anybody have any experience with them?

I reccommend you watch the video with reef builders.Jake exsplains both types very well.In my exsperience I found they like lower light and flow .With feeding twice a week my are doing great