Dear Anna:
Yes, I can understand your concern – gorgonians are veritable seahorse magnets, in the sense that the ponies are always strongly attracted to the gorgonians.
However, it has been my experience that this does not do the gorgonians any serious harm, and that the live corals normally become habituated to the presence of the ponies and will begin to expand their polyps again after an adjustment period.
Hopefully, that will be the case with your new rusty gorgonian as well. But you might also consider introducing some other attractive hitching posts so that the seahorses have a number of favorite perches that they use freely, which will assure that one gorgonian or coral colony does not receive too much unwanted attention from your ponies.
Good luck!
Respectfully,
Pete Giwojna, Ocean Rider Tech Support
Ocean Rider, Inc. is an Organic Hawaiian-Based Seahorse Aqua-Farm & Aquarium that Follows Strict Good Farming Practices in Raising Seahorses and Other Aquatic Life.
