care of elegance -retracted tenatacles

[200mfromocean]

Picked up this beatuful elegance yesterday. Did the 2 hour aclimation. Put it on the bottom of my sandbed under 400w 20K lighting - same as LFS. The eleahnce has a green head and purple tips. It had been in LFS or a couple weeks and sold as aussi. The tentacles were almost completely retracted this morning. Is this normal? Should I take immediate action?

 

[jacksonpt]

Hard to say without some info about your tank. No mention of your water params, and that does seem like a lot of light to me, but....

You bought it yesterday, and it's not open today? That's not at all uncommon with new corals... it often takes them a day or 2, sometimes longer to adjust.

 

[capt85]

I wish I had more usefull info but I tried to save an elegance LFS and it didn't end up so well.

I have some friends who have kept them successfully but just a heads up they are tricky.

Most I have seen like non direct light with moderate flow.

Keep a close on on it because if it starts disintegrate and get brown jelly disease get it out fast.

When I decided to pull mine out it smelled of death a made my whole house smell horrible.

Best of luck they are beautiful corals.

 

[200mfromocean]

Thanks for the input. Here are my basic params:
Sg 1.0225
calc 420
n < 5
ph 8-8.3
temp 79-79.8
water change: 10% weekly
Lighting Xm 20K 400 23" deep

The copral opened again this afternoon. Hopefully I have the shallow water astralian.

 

[jacksonpt]

Pic looks good, which is encouraging. I might bring up the salinity just a touch, but if its adjusting then just be patient.

 

[200mfromocean]

I will gradually raise the sg to 1.025. I usually keep the tank at the levels. On another note the elegance grew to another 1.25. to 1.5 the size of the pic toward the end of the evening. I would gander it likes the metal halide.

Kudos to anyone who can ID the location of origin.

 

[jacksonpt]

Yea... whatever that peach coral is on the rock next to it may be in harms way by the end of the weekend. It's surprising how big they can get and how small they can shrink down to as the day/night cycle goes.

 

[Waco Pilot]

Let me tag along with this thread. I too have a fairly large elegance that when open has probably 2-3 heads that are about 3-4" in diameter. Did fine for about 2 weeks. We then fed krill to it which it readily accepted about a week ago. It then stayed retracted like an anemone after feeding. After a couple days it started expelling waste/slime like an anemone. Since that time, it has never opened fully and is still expelling slime. The tank is a 75g with T5 lights. It sits on the bottom where it gets water flow but probably less than what you would call "moderate". Parameters are as follows:

Temp 80.4
SG 1.026
Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate 0
PH 8.2
Calcium around 440
KH mid-range
Phosphate .25

Should I move it out of the light and maybe into more of a flow area? It expands so large when fully open it takes up alot of room.

 

[Teh Noob Reefer]

I know that long aclimation (over 45 min) can cause a buildup of ammonia in the bag and start to kill the coral before its even in your tank. That might've been your problem because your tank parameters are great. hope this helps:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1939508

 

[200mfromocean]

Coral has now taken a turn for the worse. It has retracted somewhat the last three evenings. I can now make out the ridge shape because it is partially open. It is also expelling some muccus before and after the 30 minutes Lugols dip that was performed last night. I also spoke to another reefer who bought the same type of elegance from the same LFS. He has a more sophisticated setup and got only a week. LFS said I should try to move the coral under more light. It is getting 150+-par under my halides in a partially shaded area of my tank as seen in the pic. I can move it to the open sand bed where it can get 300 par, but coral may be preoccupied in simply trying to survive.

Hopefully there is still a chance the thing will get better.

 

[atlantisaquari]

just get it out quick when it starts to fall apart. seems like every week there are 2 or 3 posts about elegance dying. just emagine how many dont report on this or other sites.

 

[atlantisaquari]

the "hardy ones" usually die in about 6 to 8 months.

 

[200mfromocean]

Elgance Update

Elgance Update

Elegance seems to continue to die. I would like to try to hang on to it but probably time to put it in the trash.

 

[dynomight]

Elegance corals are known to grown in deep grassy reef flats. In The wild they are know to be found in slow moving, muddy, nutrient rich waters with diffused lighting.

I have had mine for well over a year. In my research elegances that are not green centered with the long purple tips are known to perish quickly.

I cant quote my params because I frankly havent tested in a while. I run gfo/carbon, have a predominatly lps 90g cube tank with 150w halide and 96w supplemental t5's maybe 15" from the water. Not alot of flow, 2 korralia 1050 evos on wavemaker blow on the front of the tank and 2 evo 1400's across the back also on wavemaker. I have a dsb in my sump with an octo 150 skimmer.

Good luck.....

 

[200mfromocean]

Elegance corals are known to grown in deep grassy reef flats. In The wild they are know to be found in slow moving, muddy, nutrient rich waters with diffused lighting.

I have had mine for well over a year.

I cant quote my params because I frankly havent tested in a while. I run gfo/carbon, have a predominatly lps 90g cube tank with 150w halide and 96w supplemental t5's maybe 15" from the water. Not alot of flow, 2 korralia 1050 evos on wavemaker blow on the front of the tank and 2 evo 1400's across the back also on wavemaker. I have a dsb in my sump with an octo 150 skimmer.

Good luck.....

My elegance has the green center with purple tips. On my last trip to LFS I found 3 similar green center with purple tips elegance not doing too hot. The rest of the euphilia LPS in the display was doing great. Did I understand you correctly " In my research elegances that are not green centered with the long purple tips are known to perish quickly."

Nonetheless, kudos to you for keeping it. LMK when you frag it.

 

[beeker]

i've owned 6 elegance corals and only 1 has ever survived in my carE and sadly the one that has survived is about the size of a walnut, lol

i've done every type of care and placement and i'd really have to say they are hit or miss, either you get one that is destined to die or destined to live, low light is the only thing i can reccommend

 

[dynomight]

My elegance has the green center with purple tips. On my last trip to LFS I found 3 similar green center with purple tips elegance not doing too hot. The rest of the euphilia LPS in the display was doing great. Did I understand you correctly " In my research elegances that are not green centered with the long purple tips are known to perish quickly."

Nonetheless, kudos to you for keeping it. LMK when you frag it.

I meant the green/purple have a better chance of survival from what I have seen. Euphylia is a broad section of corals. Most of which are hardy and easy to keep. Which makes the elegance an even more evasive coral.

I don't know what I'm doing right and that scares me enough to not frag it. :crazy1:

 

[WienerDog]

WOW...I am kinda new to reefkeeping and I have had an elegance for about a month now and he is really healthy. In fact, he readily takes mysis and brine on a regular basis. It took me a few days to find a good spot for him. He doesn't like touching anything. Very spoiled.I hope I am not gonna lose this guy like everyone is speculating. He has become a nice fixture in the tank.

 

[Patrick Cox]

I just added an Aussie Elegance to my tank and he seems to be doing well but it has only been a few days. Any tipis on care or feeding? Also, I currently have him on a rock. Should he be in the sand?

Thanks!

Here is a picture btw...

 

[XSharkboyX]

I just added an Aussie Elegance to my tank and he seems to be doing well but it has only been a few days. Any tipis on care or feeding? Also, I currently have him on a rock. Should he be in the sand?

Thanks!

Here is a picture btw...

Place it in the sand.