Gorgonian won't open up - please HELP...
 

I have had this gorgonian coral for over a year now. When I woke up 2 days ago, I noticed that all the polyps were retreated and the skeleton was the only thing apparent. I hoped that they would come out when the light come on but for some reason they did not! Today, it looks like there are little pimples sticking out of where the polyps are supposed to be...

Meanwhile, I performed a water change as well....All the specs seem to be within a norm - 0,0,10.

Is there anything I can do? has it happened to anyone else?

It is the one on the left:

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ga5V8S67sJA/Sh...0/IMG_4421.jpg (it is on the left...)

I really appreciate your help as I REALLY like this coral.

PS - Thanks for everyone who helped me with my bubble coral!! It now looks great!

Glad to hear about your bubble coral! When you bought the gorgonian were you told it is photosynthetic or non-photosynthetic? I am suspecting it may be non-photosynthetic which means it's life span in aquaria is usually hugely limited as it will starve to death. Not much you can do unless you're willing to setup a specialty tank just for it. If it is photosynthetic, then I wouldn't worry about it for a few days. Do a water chance and see if it comes back out.

I think that it is photosynthetic as I've had it for just over a year..... It looks like the polyps are trying to come out but can't :-( I did a water chane 2 days ago and a week ago so preferably I don't want to do another one for another a week or so....

Why would they suddenly retract?

Ohh man the bubble is like a vacuum machine!!!! I follow your advice and feed it once every 2 days for the next week or so and then I wil limit its food...

Its a photosynthetic type by the looks of it

Is there any brown "rust" on it or crud? Try blowing it off really well with a powerhead. If there is "rust" (diatoms or dinos) on it, gently take your fingers and wipe it off. Sometimes they get diatoms on them and this causes the polyps to retract and they have trouble coming out again because the opening is all 'gooed-up'. You could also try moving it to a slightly higher flow area if possible.

When the polyps look like "pimples" they are a little bit out, not sucked in all the way. I'm sure they can still come out, but aren't for some reason. When things are amiss in my tank I do 25% water changes daily until they straighten out. Salt is cheap thankfully. :)

The skeleton has a purple - brownish color....I tried cleaning it now so we'll see.... But as Myka was saying - I am not quite sure that it is diatoms as the rusty colour would not come off....

I will do a water change tomorrow if they still don't come out by then.... Man - I LOVE this guy!

so I performed yet another water change and put it the little anti phosphate / silica tablets (by Seachem) to get rid of the hair algae / diatoms.

The polyps seem to try to come out.... the stems come out but do not open.... soon after, they retract again..... Not sure if it is a good sign or not