Troubles with Elegance

[Staghorn]

I cannot get elegance coral to grow in my reef tank. I have no problems with some hard corals such as hammers or candy cane. Even acropora sp. do well. I do have problems with brains, bubble and elegance however. Any tips from those that have success with these? I have read that maybe my water quality is too good. I did test the LFS water that the elegance was bagged in and it was loaded with nitrate. It was beautifully extended in my tank for about 2 weeks and then it closed and it is still like that.

[sharky]

Almost everyone has been having problems keeping an elegance lately. One theory I have heard, which is probably correct, is that they are now being collected from deeper waters than the ones in the past. The ones from deeper waters are not used to any changes in their environment and do not adapt as well to aquarium life as the ones from shallower waters that are used to changes. This is probably useless info for you but I figured I'd put my $.02 in. One other point is that the elegance comes from areas that have less than ideal reef parameters. Nitrates of 20ppm will will not harm the coral and might actually be beneficial. The lighting in their natural environment can also be simulated very well with PC's. You do not really need metal halides for this type. Another point is that they should be placed on a sandy bottom(like they are found in the wild) facing up. You may want to move it. Don't know if any of this was of help. Hope the elegance perks up for you.

[razorbackfan]

Staghorn Elegance corals are very hard to keep alive now. I was told by a person who has a wholesale business in LA the Elegance are collected from deeper and deeper waters, kept in holding vats (styrofoam coolers) for 3 days then brought in to be shipped. It seems they are doomed before we get them. What I have found for those having success, they are making a hole in their substrate putting the Elegance under LOW light with LOW water flow. Even then, our tanks might be too sterile for them. My LFS has a beautiful purple tip Elegance for $90.00 that I want so bad, but I know it will die, so I didn't get it.

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[This message has been edited by razorbackfan (edited 02-22-2001).]

[popcorn]

We fell in love with an elegance back in November, and brought it home in early December. After reading a great deal, we found a suggestion be Bob Fenner regarding a malachite green dip for this coral that seemed to improve its chances. (Do a search on the board - it's been a common topic lately.) We weren't sure about how it worked at first, because that was one picky, irritable coral for a long time. It only just recently began fully expanding, and seems to be doing pretty well so far (knock on wood...) Ours is in the substrate with not too much current (under PCs). Ironically, it started doing better when we noticed that the yellow leather frag we were trying to grow started to disintigrate. Interesting nitrate thoughts. (Oh, and for what it's worth, our brain and bubble are doing wonderfully - perhaps whatever factor is involved is shared.) Good luck.

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[ravenmore]

Yep - you might try the malachite green dip. It involves 1.018 salinity water an a half dose of malachite green. I used water from a water change so it was the proper temp and ph and then added warm, dechlorinated tap water to it. You then dip the coral in this for 10 minutes before putting it in the tank. It may not open real well after this for a few days. It improves their chances, but they can still decline. Once they start to decline little can be done to reverse it.

With both the bubbles and elegance corals it is best to feed them. Mine like brine shrimp and diced tiger prawns from the deli at the grocery store.

Hope this helps.
-Mike

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[Staghorn]

Thanks everybody for the input. I was hooked on this one when I saw it. I had swore that I would not get another elegance after I had one just wither away over a period of about a year. I tried it all, moved it to different places and levels, dips, in and out of different water flow. Sometimes the elegance would actually open up and be beautiful for a month or so. Then it would close up again. Eventually it completely receeded. That was a couple of years ago. I thought maybe my tank had become more "stony" coral friendly since I was having success with other sp. WRONG! Same thing again. From everything I've read, I suspect water quality more than anything. It was in bad water when I bought it and it was fine.

[Duncan]

Staghorn,
Sharky makes a great point about the placement of the specimen in the tank. It is my rule that I try my best to situate a coral in my tank where it most closely resembles its natural environment. But as many have explained, the elegance that are coming in now are collected from deeper depths which makes it difficult to follow my rule unless some rearranging of the reef structure allows for a less brightly lit area. Ok, the time of the year has a lot to do with specimen health as well. From about march until june seems to be the best time to pick the elegance up at the wholesaler or LFS. I have been told in the past that the reason for this is that the water temp where these guys are collected is higher during our winter months. And these higher temp months are the worst time of the year for the elegance as they are more prone to death. Whether this has any validity to it or not, I dont know for sure but it does make sense. Now when selecting a new specimen to bring home you should always get the LFS employee to disturb the elegance so that it shrinks up and you can get a good look at the attachment of tissue to the exoskeleton. If you see any tears or any pulling away of tissue from the exoskeleton keep walking by because this coral is doomed. There are exceptions to any rule, but for my buck and my dislike of seeing dying corals in my reef, I follow this guideline with much success. HTH.

Duncan.