elegance coral help

[nikoma]

i purchased an elegance coral from my lfs who are usually very good at giving the right advice regarding purchases. its a pink tip and have not been back to verify it is from Australia or not. yesterday it started inflating and retracting its tentacles. i lifted it out of the sand and removed what looked like transparent egg cases from around the edge of the tissue i then re situated in an area of the tank where there is little flow. i have put some perspex on the top of the tank and covered the direct light to the coral. (4 x 39w t5 ho) today it has shown no sign of inflating beyond normal size but the tentacles are short and some are over inflated. my question is this, usually the over inflated oral disk is a sign that ur coral is gonna die but is this a result of a failure of rectifying whatever is bothering it or is it sure death. if the right conditions are given can its death be stopped as in if the coral was returned to its place in the sea.

 

[usmc121581]

Without pics its hard to tell, but from your post I have never seen an elegance recover from this stage. But I am only one person so maybe someone has. Also I have read that these corals are becaming harder to care for in the home tank.

 

[nikoma]

i will post a pic of its current state when i work out how. it does seem that this is usually the end for it but i was looking for some success stories or ideas on what to do to give it its best chance of survival. thanks for answering

 

[nikoma]

ok here it is today

 

[elegance coral]

There's nothing visibly wrong with that coral. The tentacle shape and length you're seeing is a product of the environment it came from. If you want them longer and thinner, simply keep the water really clean, feed it well, and provide gentle flow. Over time, they'll elongate and become thinner.

HTH
Peace
EC

 

[nikoma]

agreed it looks ok today but yesterday it was repeatedly swelling up and deflating like the ones i have seen with ecs. is it possible somthing was irritating it before i moved it

 

[elegance coral]

They will often swell up, or over inflate, when they are exposed to excessive lighting. Sometimes it doesn't take much to be excessive. It sounds like you have reduced the lighting, and this behavior has stopped. As long as the coral wasn't damaged by the excessive lighting, it should do well from here.

Over time, you can s....l....o....w....l....y increase lighting. It's better for the coral to turn dark brown, and for the green to fade from a lack of lighting, than to cook the coral with to much light.

HTH
peace
EC

 

[nikoma]

thats really good news if it is. should i wait for it to get fully aclimatised to this light level before increasing or continue to slowly increase from now onwards

 

[elegance coral]

Let it adjust to its new environment for a few weeks. Maybe a month or two. Then slightly increase lighting, and note its reaction. If all goes well, continue doing this until you have the coral in the lighting you want it in. Just remember to go slow. The coral may need to shuffle zooxanthellae populations, and this takes time.

Peace
EC

 

[gnu]

There's nothing visibly wrong with that coral. The tentacle shape and length you're seeing is a product of the environment it came from. If you want them longer and thinner, simply keep the water really clean, feed it well, and provide gentle flow. Over time, they'll elongate and become thinner.

HTH
Peace
EC

Thats exactly what I did and it worked great. I also had the benifit of having my frag tank next to a window that I could let it get some sunlight during the day. It loved having the sun on it. I slowly introduced him to the LEDs.

Once you have it for awhie you can start feeding it. I have a couple of them and they are amazing. They eat like your feeding a dog. Just put the food in front of it and it will close up right on it. Its really a site to see. Just remember to take everything slow.

 

[usmc121581]

Now I see a pic it looks normal. Is the tentacles still sticky and grab you when you moved it. When you described it I had a different picture in my head.

 

[nikoma]

Let it adjust to its new environment for a few weeks. Maybe a month or two. Then slightly increase lighting, and note its reaction. If all goes well, continue doing this until you have the coral in the lighting you want it in. Just remember to go slow. The coral may need to shuffle zooxanthellae populations, and this takes time.

Peace
EC

thats great,thanks for ur help and time, much appreciated. by the way is there any way of telling the corals origin other than the word of the seller?

 

[nikoma]

Now I see a pic it looks normal. Is the tentacles still sticky and grab you when you moved it. When you described it I had a different picture in my head.

the tentacles are sticky and it is taking food. it was just that day of the oral disk swelling that had me worried unfortunately i did no get a photo of it in this state but it looked identical to the doomed ones ive seen.

 

[Darkblack]

Hard to keep . They get upset easily.check water flow replace him in the tank and not a strong light

 

[nikoma]

so far so good the coral has been fine since the changes i made and the tentacles have extended a little better so fingers crossed itll be ok

 

[fishybudguy]

ec knows exactly what hes sayin..just go slow

 

[Dreaco]

looked like a pretty nice elegance coral to me...

 

[usmc121581]

So any updates.....

 

[nikoma]

yes so far so good i have taken the cover off the top and the elegance is in indirect light its taking food very well. it hasnt bloated since but has retracted a couple of times for a good part of the day. i will continue to move into the direct light over the next few months.

 

[Cubanpete]

Very awesome for you. Unfortunately, I read this thread a couple weeks too late. Lost mine after a month or so, but was right out in the T5 light on the sand. Sounds like if I try gain, she goes in the shade first. Super happy for you.