Elegance coral Questions for Elegance coral :)

[gsellers1245]

I have 2 elegance corals in my 90 (ill be attaching pics shortly) And i feel i am malnourishing them. The small one dont open up like it used to and started to show skeleton and same with the other one. They are now both showing signs of bouncing back and the tissue is regrowing. They are on the far left and right of the tank in the sand under 2 250w 20k xm's with medium flow randomly and i dont spot feed. I would like to have these guys open up alot more and get them bright and shiny again, do you have any tricks to help me get these guys from craoking. They have been in the tank well the big one 4 months and the small one 2 months or so.They are housed in a 90 aga with 38 sump and fuge full of chaeto otopus 150 skimmer 2 tunze 6025's and 2 mj1200's alk 3.3dkh ph 8.3 sg 1.024 temp 79 calcium 420-440 ammonia 0 nitrates undetectable phosphates undetectable. dosing daily oceans blend 2 part (calcium reactor coming soon) Any help would be apperciated

before pic of the small one

before pic of the big one

the after pics are uploading on photobucket just a sec

 

[gsellers1245]

any clue on the species of these also?

 

[gsellers1245]

after pics on the big one
forgot to say it was hard for this thing to bounce back with this damn clown hosting it

after pics of the small one, you will see a huge difference in color and shape. I guess a loss of zooanthelle?

 

[gsellers1245]

sorry alk is 3.3 meq/l not dkh

 

[gsellers1245]

can anyone chime in?........................

 

[sherm71tank]

Get that clown out of there! I also noticed a big difference in mine when I fed it. Small pieces of shrimp and fish every 3 days or so.

 

[gsellers1245]

what kind of shrimp did you feed? would prawn be ok? little pieces of silversides?

 

[elegance coral]

The color looks great. The Elegance corals colored like yours often change to the color it is now. In fact it has more algae in it today than it had when you got it. You should feel good about that. Sherm71tank is correct. You have got to do something with the clown. Its a shame because that is a beautiful clown, but someone must go. After the clown is gone, you should try to feed them. If you tried this now the clown would probably just steal the food and throw it away. This would just cause the coral to spend valuable energy trying to feed and not getting to. They may not start feeding right away. Take a small, about 1/4 inch, piece of shrimp or fish and gently wiggle it in the corals tentacles. Like a fish struggling to get away. This is your best shot at getting a feeding response out of the coral. After a second or two the coral should grab the food and slowly begin moving it to its mouth. If it does feed the first time you try, you should pop open your favorite beverage and celebrate! If you want the coral to begin opening up you will need to feed it often. At first, small pieces about twice a week. Ater it has grown you can start feeding larger pieces less often. In about a year from now, after the coral has grown and is totaly adjusted to tank life, you can start moving them up the rocks closer to the lights if you want them to begin showing more of the bright green color. This color will most likely continue to fade a little more where they are. Thats okay for now though. Food is the most important thing these corals need right now, other than the clown off of them. One more thing. Don't feed them food from the grocery store. Good luck and let me know how it goes.

 

[elegance coral]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10085491#post10085491 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gsellers1245
what kind of shrimp did you feed? would prawn be ok? little pieces of silversides?

This would be fine.

 

[gsellers1245]

good news i snuck a piece of silverside in and the big one closed up like a clam and the little one did the same. I guess i should celebrate?
So twice weekly huh? ill do that and kick the clown, hopefully i can get my 40 breeader up and running this weekend so i can throw them in there.
Thankyou so much for the help guys ill sure to post pics of the pregress weekly and make sure it is the same time of the day so we get a shot of full expansion

 

[elegance coral]

I wouldn't move these guys any time soon. You have had them for several months and they are still adjusting to life where you have them. If you move them now you will start this process all over again. I would allow them to build up some strength and become very healthy before I started thinking of moving them. I know feeding them in the bottom of a 90gl tank can be a pain, but if you can keep it up for at least a couple of months, you will be much happier in the long run.
I don't want to sound negative, but are you sure the corals consumed the food? Closing up like a clam is a defensive response. They normally open up later and the food floats off with the current. The key to keeping this from happening is to lightly, very lightly, touch the tentacles with the food and allow the coral to sting it and move the food to its mouth. If the contact is to rough the coral will close up like a clam and not feed. The only portion of the coral that should react to feeding is that portion very near the food. The rest of the coral should remain open.
Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[gsellers1245]

sorry i didnt elaborate...im moving the clowns to the 40 breeder. The small one didnt get the food...the big one i am not sure as the lights went out for the night. But i will keep offering them a piece daily until i get a better reaction in feeding

 

[gsellers1245]

here's a bit of an update
We've got some progress
both elegance took food in yesterday 6/6/07
here is the little one

a little closer with the piece of silverside

and here is the big one accepting the same...

 

[gsellers1245]

as you can see the new growth on the left side of the big one ^^ and the skeleton showing on the right side
here is pics of them on 6/7/07 looking good after their little meal yesterday
little one

big one

 

[gsellers1245]

and also this evening of 6/7 i removed both clowns and it took me about 1/2 hour and i snagged my net on my blue tipps milli and i was furious. i wanted to pop their heads off. but i just stuck the frag in a little hole and see of it takes without falling out
heres the little clowns in their new home....now i need to get my light and canopy built so i can get them a carpet

FINALLY NO MORE HOSTING IN THE ELEGANCE

 

[shutiny]

From the pictures above, I think the food pieces are too big. Smaller portions are easier for it to consume and digest.
Feed smaller portions and more frequently is better in mine personal experiences.

 

[sherm71tank]

I agree. They will take smaller pieces much easier.

 

[elegance coral]

They're right. The food shouldn't be more than about 1/4 of an inch for now. They have allot of growing to do before you should try feeding large pieces like that. Good luck, and keep the updates coming.

 

[gsellers1245]

ok will do... i gotta go and get some more silversides they tend to stick better

 

[DrDNA]

Looks like you got a lot of good info above.
FWIW, I have two elegance corals in my tank, both on the sand under 10K 250w halides. I feed them little pieces of silversides, like no larger than a pencil eraser at most, about once a week.
Elegance corals are still my favorite coral!