Purple Sea Fan

Care at a glance

Overview

Anchor the base upright in a bright, open spot with strong, ideally turbulent flow, since the flat fan collects algae and sediment quickly in weak current. Aquacultured colonies are kept much like the other photosynthetic Caribbean gorgonians, running mostly on light with occasional feedings of fine plankton foods. It grows slowly for its potential size and will not sting or bother any tankmate, but plan for a tall tank if you want to see the fan shape develop.

In the wild

Gorgonia ventalina is the classic Caribbean sea fan, common on shallow fore reefs and hardbottom from Florida and the Bahamas through the wider Caribbean. Colonies grow as a single flat lattice of fused purple branches, oriented broadside to the prevailing surge so the whole fan strains the water passing through it. Large wild fans can stand well over a meter tall and sway constantly with the swell.

Good to know

This is the species most people picture when they hear the word gorgonian, described by Linnaeus in 1758 and still accepted as Gorgonia ventalina in the family Gorgoniidae. The fan is supported by a flexible skeleton of the protein gorgonin, and its fine side branches fuse together, or anastomose, into the characteristic mesh. It hosts symbiotic zooxanthellae, so most of its energy comes from light rather than captured food.

Did you know

In the wild the spotted flamingo tongue snail grazes patches of tissue off purple sea fans, and healthy colonies simply regrow them, part of why this species came through recent severe hurricane seasons better than many stony corals.

Common questions

Related species

• 

  Purple Sea Plume

  Antillogorgia bipinnata

  Saltwater

  17.7 in (45 cm)26 gal (100 L)73–81°F (23–27°C)

• 

  Sea Fan Gorgonian

  Rumphella

  Saltwater

  11.8 in (30 cm)20 gal (75 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Tangerine Sea Fan

  Annella sp.

  Saltwater

  59.1 in (150 cm)53 gal (200 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)