Elegance Coral being violated by bristle worms

[BamBam507]

Is this a bad sign if bristle worms are entering the skeleton of the Elegance?

Fed mysis shrimp tonight befor lights out. and after lights out grabbed the red light to look around and noticed a fat n happy Bristle worm crawling into the skeleton of the Elegance. also crabs were crawling and picking at recessed section of skeleton.

Lately The Elegance hasnt been looking to hot. So i have been trying to find out what changed or causing this in tank since it has shrank. the color is still good. but doesnt extend any where near the size it used to. I baby sat this Elegance march 2013 and it was 6x the size as it is now. during lighting schedule is only extending approximately 3" near center

Things that have changed from when it was healthy (when i baby sat it for few moths) while friend was converting his set up :

I now have two clowns that pick on it some.
larger cleanup crew, crabs, snails
temp is 78 vrs 79

when I was given the coral my friend was severely neglecting his tank. on water changes and maint. and in his tank it was recessed a lot

Pic of Elegance March 2013 When I baby sat



Quarantine pic when it was given to me a few months ago



I will try and get current pic tomorrow.

 

[atreis]

No it's not necessarily a bad sign. They're likely eating other stuff that's collecting in the skeleton. Your Elegance looks nice.

 

[BamBam507]

Here are pics from tonight. lights were just about out. and turned on 40% to snap a few pics.

and thats all the bigger it was all day

 

[Timber77]

i would frag it right away.

 

[atreis]

Doesn't look so good this time... Perhaps the worms are a bad sign. (Not that the worms are bad, but that they indicate other problems.)

 

[BamBam507]

Elegance is fully closed and has been for a few days think it is done for but hoping it comes peeking back out

 

[Joe0813]

Aren't these very hard to keep?

 

[sirreal63]

If it had dead tissue the worms will be there to eat although I highly doubt they are killing it.

 

[Bilk]

These corals used to be a staple back in the day - 1980s LPS/softie reefs. I think they flourished then because the water parameters were different- higher nutrients. No one tested for phosphate because there were no hobbyist saltwater tests for it so there was no concern about it. Most everyone ran a wet/dry filter which provided plenty of nourishment for these types of corals. People weren't trying to keep SPS because they weren't available to the hobby and the husbandry for them wasn't even yet understood.

I think elegance corals require a different environment that conflicts with the low nutrient requirements of SPS systems. More than likely, the only way to overcome that with this species, is to target feed. No scientific knowledge to back that up, but back in the 80s I had one that grew to huge proportions. Being back in the hobby again for a few years, I see many having issues with them.

Just some anecdotal information on my part.

 

[fishroomlady]

I would try to frag it for sure. I'd also try and feed it as well (after a little bit of time following fragging).

 

[Timber77]

I'm sure its dead by now, if bristle worms are eating the decaying flesh would have to have fragged it earlier.

 

[vette.tech]

These corals used to be a staple back in the day - 1980s LPS/softie reefs. I think they flourished then because the water parameters were different- higher nutrients. No one tested for phosphate because there were no hobbyist saltwater tests for it so there was no concern about it. Most everyone ran a wet/dry filter which provided plenty of nourishment for these types of corals. People weren't trying to keep SPS because they weren't available to the hobby and the husbandry for them wasn't even yet understood.

I think elegance corals require a different environment that conflicts with the low nutrient requirements of SPS systems. More than likely, the only way to overcome that with this species, is to target feed. No scientific knowledge to back that up, but back in the 80s I had one that grew to huge proportions. Being back in the hobby again for a few years, I see many having issues with them.

Just some anecdotal information on my part.

I BELIEVE actually that its more complex than that. I can't remember the source so take this for what its worth but there may possibly be some type of disease in the indonesian holding tanks that these all pass through. It seems like all the indo ones die shortly after aquiring, where ones collected in Australia do not seem to have this problem. Maybe someone else can confirm or deny this

 

[Timber77]

I think they are having to dive deeper to get them nowadays. I would mnt say it was ever considered an ez coral to keep

 

[Bilk]

I BELIEVE actually that its more complex than that. I can't remember the source so take this for what its worth but there may possibly be some type of disease in the indonesian holding tanks that these all pass through. It seems like all the indo ones die shortly after aquiring, where ones collected in Australia do not seem to have this problem. Maybe someone else can confirm or deny this

Well that doesn't seem more complex. That seems like it can be corrected. I'd be interested in seeing the source of that info.

The pic below is from the tank I referenced above. The elegance coral is at the top of the pic. It started out as half of what you can see. It was in the tank for about 6 years. Unfortunately the tank met a sudden and untimely demise due to a few mitigating factors - namely a power outage while I was away and a friend was minding the tank. The tank was running about 10 years.



These corals survived on bioballs, Jaubert plenum and NYC tap water - well until I was able to afford a 3 stage RO unit, which was well into it's life. The tank was a 110g. It ran from about 1985 until 1994 or 5. I don't have a date on the pic, but that was probably around the early 90s.

It could be as you say - some pathogen that infects them when they're being held over. I just wonder if people maintaining LPS/softie systems are having the same issues with them.

 

[BamBam507]

I still have not removed the skeleton. wondering if i should considering what tissue may be inside the skeleton . or figure the clean up crew should take care of it?