AquaticCare difficulty: AdvancedLegal complexity: Low

Grooved-blade sea whip

Pterogorgia guadalupensis · also called Sea blade, Purple sea blade

This Caribbean gorgonian grows flat ribbons instead of round branches, which earned it the hobby name sea blade. Algae in its tissue supply most of its energy, so strong light and steady flow are the basics. Do not be fooled by how easy it looks, because its genus has one of the worst long-term survival records among aquarium gorgonians.

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Quick facts

Size	Upright colony of flat, ribbon-shaped branches. Field guides give about 15-60 cm tall, while one reef reference stops at 20 cm.
Lifespan	—
Social needs	solo
Native region	Florida, the Bahamas and the Caribbean
Origin	New World
Climate	Tropical
Water type	Marine
Family	Pterogorgiidae
Genus	Pterogorgia

Part of the Soft Corals

Soft corals such as leathers, colt, cloves, Anthelia, gorgonians and Sympodium. Octocorals with flexible, often swaying colonies and eight-tentacled polyps, and no stony skeleton. Many are hardy, beginner-friendly reef corals driven by photosynthesis and tolerant of a wide range of light, flow and nutrients, but some gorgonians have no algae of their own and depend on regular feeding, so check eac

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Color & pattern variants

Natural variants occur in the wild; selectively bred (man-made) variants were developed in captivity.

Natural

Purple Sea Blade →

The purple form of this flat-branched whip.

Tan Grooved-Blade Sea Whip →

The tan form of this flat-branched whip.

Habitat & enclosure

Give it strong light high on the reef with good flow. In the wild it stands upright on back-reef sand and rubble, patch reefs and hard bottom, with depth reports from about 1 to 30 m in Florida, the Bahamas and the wider Caribbean. The genus copes with bright sun and wide swings in temperature and water quality in nature, so too little light is the likelier mistake in a tank.

Keep stable reef water: SG about 1.025, 24-27 °C (75-81 °F), pH 8.1-8.4, alkalinity 8-11 dKH, calcium 400-450 ppm and magnesium 1250-1350 ppm.

Substrate

Glue the base to rock or a plug with reef-safe gel glue and stand it upright. It comes from sand and rubble zones but still needs a firm attachment point.

Equipment & setup

Strong lighting matters more here than with most gorgonians, so place it under the brightest part of your reef lighting. Add powerheads for good flow and a skimmer to keep the water clean.

Diet

Relies on light, mainly through its zooxanthellae. It also accepts fine particulate food, and a summary of the genus suggests it benefits from some extra feeding, so offer fine foods a few times a week. Food will not make up for dim lighting.

Behavior & temperament

The genus cleans itself by shedding a waxy surface layer, which lets it thrive in bright shallows where algae would smother other gorgonians. This species stays smaller than the related angular sea whip (P. anceps). Telling Pterogorgia species apart is hard, and exact identification can take a microscope, so a purple blade is not automatically this animal. Fish feeding tests found the genus unpalatable.

Health

Its poor record in aquariums seems tied to light first and feeding second, so a slow decline calls for a hard look at both. As with other gorgonians, film algae or cyanobacteria settling in weak flow can kill the tissue beneath. In nature the encrusting gorgonian Briareum asbestinum can grow over a colony and kill it.

Tips, DIY & hacks

Do not let a tough appearance set your expectations. Field hardiness has not carried over to long-term aquarium success. Give it your strongest light from the start, bringing it up over a couple of weeks, and keep it clear of Briareum.