Admin Meerwasser-Lexikon
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The type locality for Thesea citrina is off Dry Tortugas National Park, South Florida in the Gulf of Mexico.
Thesea citrina is a small sea fan, typically about 10 cm tall, branched in a plane, the branches are long and slender with small upward branching.
The branches are only slightly laterally compressed.
Color:
The color of the coral can vary from orange to yellow-brown.
Thesea citrina differs from other Thesea species in having uniform orange sclerites.
Recommendation - the coral should be kept in a species-specific tank.
Feeding
The majority of 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.
Remarks:
Considering the low calices, this species could be mistaken for a Leptogorgia, but the slight lateral compression often seen in Thesea should be enough to distinguish the two species, however.
There is only one other species of orange Thesea, Thesea rugosa, but it is more sparsely branched and lacks the small, upward pointing branches.
Thesea citrina is a small sea fan, typically about 10 cm tall, branched in a plane, the branches are long and slender with small upward branching.
The branches are only slightly laterally compressed.
Color:
The color of the coral can vary from orange to yellow-brown.
Thesea citrina differs from other Thesea species in having uniform orange sclerites.
Recommendation - the coral should be kept in a species-specific tank.
Feeding
The majority of 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.
Remarks:
Considering the low calices, this species could be mistaken for a Leptogorgia, but the slight lateral compression often seen in Thesea should be enough to distinguish the two species, however.
There is only one other species of orange Thesea, Thesea rugosa, but it is more sparsely branched and lacks the small, upward pointing branches.
