Elegance coral show off thread

[gsxunv04]

I guess it depends on how often you feed it ifisch

 

[iFisch]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15124987#post15124987 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gsxunv04
I guess it depends on how often you feed it ifisch

Well, if you do "normal" feedings, I guess a few times a week, is this coral going to outgrow my system in just a few months? Or does it take year(s) to get as big as I see them in this thread?


I am pretty confident that someone in my reef club wouldn't mind having it, once it outgrows my tank, but if I can only provide no more than a "temporary" home, I'll leave this coral to bigger tanks.

 

[Reefski's]

if it gets too big you can always run it through a saw to frag it. look at the pictures of mine. that too about two years.

Carl

 

[gsxunv04]

speaking of feeding, do your fish ever steal food out of your elegance corals?

 

[iFisch]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15127011#post15127011 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Reefski's
if it gets too big you can always run it through a saw to frag it. look at the pictures of mine. that too about two years.

Carl

That doesn't sound to fun. I'm a little petrified by doing such a thing.

Is there any particular place along the skeleton that should be fragged? I know a LFS that would/could possibly do it for me, if need be.

 

[Reefski's]

once it is retracted you will know where to cut.

 

[gsxunv04]

holy cow! do you use a bandsaw?

 

[Reefski's]

band saw or table saw with a diamond blade

 

[gsxunv04]

i dont think i have the cojones to do that. Im glad my elegance is alive as it is, I will leave the band saw out of the equation for now. thanks for the tips though reefskis.

 

[hamiltonguy]

Hey, I couldn't find any pics of my elegance coral (they're on an SD card somewhere) but I found my video on youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrkyTAIm04A

 

[Azurel]

here is a pic of mine had it about 8 months......

My redfire fish sleeps under the polyp at night....

 

[gsxunv04]

do your elegance corals retract into their skeleton at night?

 

[Azurel]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15201612#post15201612 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gsxunv04
do your elegance corals retract into their skeleton at night?

Mine does sometimes I have also had it retract 2 times during they day for 2 days. It had me worried both times, but according to Borneman they do that and can do that for long periods of time. Each time it opened back up it seemed to be bigger and colors a bit brighter. So I don't know if it is a process of excreeting waste when it does it but each time it had had me on edge......

 

[mortenN]

Here is mine two Elegances. I have bought both two as Australian corals, but time will show.

Feeding with shrimp.

 

[QueenOfTheReef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14912602#post14912602 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by elegance coral
That is very misleading. Elegance corals do not prefer muddy, mucky environments. There are several possible reasons why elegance corals have evolved to survive in less than perfect environments for a stony coral. Freedom from predators, availability of food, lack of competition...... Elegance corals are stony corals. Elevated phosphate and other nutrients reduce stony coral growth. This is true of all stony corals. Elegance corals can be found all around coral reefs. Even on protected patch reefs. There is one overwhelmingly obvious difference between corals from different habitats. Those that live in environments like those described above, grow very slow. They remain small, and their skeletons form a small flattened cone shape. Corals near the reef in better habitats grow much larger and they form a large meandering skeletal structure.

Can elegance corals withstand harsher environments than most stony corals? Sure. Does that mean we should force them to do so in captivity? Absolutely not. They should be provided the same high quality nutrient poor water we would provide for any of our more delicate stony coral species.

Hi! Wondering if I could pick your brain...it sounds like the elegance coral you described as coming from a poor environment (smaller, flattened cone shaped skeleton) is exactly what I have. I've had it for about a year, though, and it seems to be doing well. What I was wondering is if you know if a coral like this can eventually grow into a larger coral with the meandering skeleton you described if kept in good water conditions for a long period of time?

 

[elegance coral]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15326768#post15326768 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by QueenOfTheReef
Hi! Wondering if I could pick your brain...it sounds like the elegance coral you described as coming from a poor environment (smaller, flattened cone shaped skeleton) is exactly what I have. I've had it for about a year, though, and it seems to be doing well. What I was wondering is if you know if a coral like this can eventually grow into a larger coral with the meandering skeleton you described if kept in good water conditions for a long period of time?

Absolutely. Put it in the right environment and it will begin to lay down white calcium carbonate. The skeleton will flair out, begin to curl back on itself, and "T" off in other directions.

 

[elegance coral]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15201612#post15201612 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gsxunv04
do your elegance corals retract into their skeleton at night?

Mine do withdraw at night, but not into their skeletons. When they retract to that extreme, something is wrong. Either the coral is not healthy, something has been harassing it, there's a problem with water quality, or something else is bothering it. That's not normal behavior. If that's happening you should start looking for the cause so that you can keep it from happening again.

 

[Macimage]

Beautiful colors yamant!!

Joyce

 

[tamthapluc]

Here's mine. I purchased a frag from a fellow reefer 3 years ago.

 

[crawdaddy408]

mini elegance coral

mini elegance coral

Here's a mini elegance coral I got at Bay Mac few weeks back. Vendor told me the diver never seen one this small in twenty years. Dunno if it was a sales tactic. LMK if you seen one smaller. It's about a quarter size.

Pictured with my Blotchy Anthias and Acan. My Blotchy is a monster in size.

Picture taken with my camera phone a Storm. Slight sharpness, and contrast adjustments.