Harald Ebert
Info
We would like to thank gorgonian expert Harald Ebert for his great photo of the colorful king fan Leptogorgia hebes.
Leptogorgia hebes is a very common species in shallow marine zones and can be found together with Titanideum frauenfeldii and Leptogorgia virgulata on hard bottoms or in reef environments.
Colonies reach moderate size and assume a fan-like shape, branching pinnately in a plane.
The species is separately sexual, so male and female corals occur.
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.
The king fan provides a valuable habitat for many species, for example, the amphipod Ericthonius brasiliensis is one of the most frequent visitors to the gorgonian.
The ice snail Cyphoma gibbosum, the barnacle Conopea galeata, the false cowrie (Simnialena uniplacata), and the shrimp Neopontonides beaufortensis are among the most common invertebrates recorded on the gorgonian.
In Aransas Pass, in the state of Texas of the United States, fish were observed preying on the invertebrates on the gorgonian.
Although various publications point to distinct deeper water zones as areas of occurrence for Leptogorgia hebes, the authors of the study "Leptogorgia virgulata (sea whip), L. hebes (regal sea fan), and their associates" clarified that Leptogorgia hebes is clearly a shallow water species.
Predator: Tritonicula wellsi (Er. Marcus, 1961)
Synonyms:
Leptogorgia carolinensis Verrill, 1872
Lophogorgia hebes (Verrill, 1869)
Leptogorgia hebes is a very common species in shallow marine zones and can be found together with Titanideum frauenfeldii and Leptogorgia virgulata on hard bottoms or in reef environments.
Colonies reach moderate size and assume a fan-like shape, branching pinnately in a plane.
The species is separately sexual, so male and female corals occur.
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.
The king fan provides a valuable habitat for many species, for example, the amphipod Ericthonius brasiliensis is one of the most frequent visitors to the gorgonian.
The ice snail Cyphoma gibbosum, the barnacle Conopea galeata, the false cowrie (Simnialena uniplacata), and the shrimp Neopontonides beaufortensis are among the most common invertebrates recorded on the gorgonian.
In Aransas Pass, in the state of Texas of the United States, fish were observed preying on the invertebrates on the gorgonian.
Although various publications point to distinct deeper water zones as areas of occurrence for Leptogorgia hebes, the authors of the study "Leptogorgia virgulata (sea whip), L. hebes (regal sea fan), and their associates" clarified that Leptogorgia hebes is clearly a shallow water species.
Predator: Tritonicula wellsi (Er. Marcus, 1961)
Synonyms:
Leptogorgia carolinensis Verrill, 1872
Lophogorgia hebes (Verrill, 1869)
