Elegance Coral theory

[gholtmeyer]

I did not know that GSP are that toxic, thanks for that info. That might explain why my Cali blue tort just bleached out for not apparent reason. It was located just above a patch of GSP. I might have to take them out of the tank.

 

[elegance coral]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11106709#post11106709 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by trojank
Thanks for the tip I did not know that the two did not get along. I moved the GSP it is just a frag I need to take in to trade. I don't think I want to mess with my elegance I do not want to upset it. What type of fish do you feed your elegance? I will start to feed it this week and post an update as it gets larger. Thanks again for your advice.

No problem .
I have a local sea food market that carries truly fresh seafood. They don't add preservatives like the grocery stores do in their "fresh" seafood. I buy shrimp from the market or I buy live bait shrimp and keep them in my sump until its time to feed my Elegance corals. I feed mine nothing but meat. I peal the exoskeleton off the shrimp. I rarely feed them fish, like silversides. Anything that Elegance corals are fed that is not digestible will be pooed out later. I don't want my Elegance corals to have to spend the energy to poo these things out, so I don't feed it to them. Silversides have bones and scales that will come out in a nasty blob of poo after digestion. These things don't hurt your elegance, but why make them work any harder than they have to? This poo will also decompose in the tank adding to the biological load. If they are fed nothing but meat there will be very little if any poo.

 

[Coderabit2]

I fed my elegance for the first time last night. I gave her cube of mysis shrimp. What meaty things could I buy at the LFS as I don't have a fresh seafood market in Utah.

 

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11114941#post11114941 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Coderabit2
I fed my elegance for the first time last night. I gave her cube of mysis shrimp. What meaty things could I buy at the LFS as I don't have a fresh seafood market in Utah.

my anemonies and the elegance coral like the frozen raw shrimp that you get at the grocery store--but served thawed out---

I hope this is what you meant with the frozen cube of mysis---that you thawed it out first and rinsed it with r/o water--they can contain alot of phosphates from where they were processed

 

[Aquarist007]

The rest of my corals etc have been surviving because I have a big refugium growing inverts, zoos etc and supplying the tank at a steady rate.
elegance coral---in this situation would you still have to feed the elegance coral extra?

 

[elegance coral]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11115976#post11115976 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by capn_hylinur
elegance coral---in this situation would you still have to feed the elegance coral extra?

This is a matter of opinion. In my opinion they should be fed regardless of the environment they are in. If you compare polyp expansion and the amount of calcium deposited by an Elegance when it is being fed to when it isn't you will notice a huge difference. When an Elegance is fed regularly its polyp will get very thick and expand far from the skeleton. If an Elegance is not fed its polyp will remain thin and calcium depositing will slow. An Elegance corals skeleton is much like the rings in a tree. We can tell the rate of growth and if the coral was damaged or ill in its past by looking at its skeleton. In the cone shaped Elegance corals when growth is slow it will deposit calcium one layer on top of another, but it will not expand side to side very much. This causes a long thin skeleton. As the growth rate increases calcium is deposited much faster and the skeleton will expand to the sides very quick. This causes the skeleton to flair out at the top. We can feed an Elegance for several months, then not feed it for several more months. If the skeleton is examined after this it will show the difference in growth rate.

This is the system that I keep most of my Elegance corals in. It is a 29gl display and a 55gl refuge with a DSB and lots of macro algae. My Elegance corals have outgrown the 29 so some of them had to be moved to a different system. The other system has a small pond as a refuge. I still try to feed my Elegance corals once a week.

 

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11104822#post11104822 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by trojank
I have an elegance coral in my tank for over a year. When I got it it was about the size of my hand fully open now it is about the size of a football. I have never fed my elegance coral I do feed phyto for my tank one or two times per week. I also feed the four fish I have formula one daily but I feed very little. Do you think if I were to feed my elegance I would see better growth? I would love to see it it larger then it is. my tank is 120g I run 2 175 watt 10k Hamilton MH and 2 65w PC. My elegance is in the bottom of the tank in the sand bed. I have never seen an elegance other then the local ps so it is hard for me to gauge what one should look like after a year. In the pic I posted does it look healthy? It does to me but I could br wrong. The only time my elegance has tried to feed is when I have accidentally touched it with my hand cleaning my tank I have never seen this happen with the phyto or the fish food. So with all that said I wonder should I feed my elegance?

I think I have the same species--I hope the polyps develop in size and colour like yours

should add------very little corals eat phyto----corals eat zooplankton--copopods etc. There is probably little in your tank that actually benifts from phyto other then zooplankton themselves. If you are using a product like DT then it becomes pretty expensive.
I raise zooplankton etc in my refugium for the main tank. Once a week I feed them phyto.
If you switch to once or twice a feed using cyclopeeze(the frozen stick) to feed the corals you will notice a difference in the long run.

 

[MetalReef9]

a very elegant thread indeed

 

[cristhiam]

Is this reproduction/splitting? Thanks

 

[josee1013]

Love this tread!


Here's my aussie ellegance, bottom of tank, 20K 400W MH and T5.
I have it for about 1 month now.. it already got bigger...

Does it look healthy?

 

[LuvAngels88]

Beautiful! Are the Aussie Elegances really easier to adapt to captive life?

 

[chris wright]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11275336#post11275336 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by josee1013
Love this tread!


Here's my aussie ellegance, bottom of tank, 20K 400W MH and T5.
I have it for about 1 month now.. it already got bigger...

Does it look healthy?

Looks real good josee, the aussie's are luckily strong and healthy. Do you feed yours and if so, is the capture of the food quick?.

With my elegance, you just brush the food by 1 tenticle and it's got it and wont let go. Also with moderate flow, the polyps will extend more, making it easier to feed them

Cheers

Chris

 

[josee1013]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11276996#post11276996 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by chris wright
Looks real good josee, the aussie's are luckily strong and healthy. Do you feed yours and if so, is the capture of the food quick?.

With my elegance, you just brush the food by 1 tenticle and it's got it and wont let go. Also with moderate flow, the polyps will extend more, making it easier to feed them

Cheers

Chris

Yes I feed mysis and cyclofreeze. It does eat and responds quicker to feeding now then in the beginning...

 

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11275336#post11275336 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by josee1013
Love this tread!


Here's my aussie ellegance, bottom of tank, 20K 400W MH and T5.
I have it for about 1 month now.. it already got bigger...

Does it look healthy?

it looks really healthy---I purchased one about 5 weeks ago--very similar. It was suggested to me to be careful with placing it on the rocks---when it moves it can damage itself. The ideal spot is on the substrate. (I placed mine on the bottom rocks too---but gave it the opportunity to move the 2 inches or so to the substrate if preferred but it hasn't yet)

 

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11277599#post11277599 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by josee1013
Yes I feed mysis and cyclofreeze. It does eat and responds quicker to feeding now then in the beginning...

I feed once a week--chop up a raw raw shrimp into pea size and feed each polyp. It also gets plenty of zooplankton from the refugium.

 

[elegance coral]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11270769#post11270769 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cristhiam
Is this reproduction/splitting? Thanks

I have had a lot of Elegance corals over the years, but I have never seen this. I do not believe it is a form of reproduction, though. It looks to me like the coral was damaged/punctured very near the fringe of tentacles. When the coral healed, it began growing tentacles around the wound. If this same wound would have been further away from the tentacles, it most likely would have just been an abnormal color pattern after it healed. I think it is very cool and certainly unique, but I do not believe it is trying to reproduce/split.

 

[elegance coral]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11275336#post11275336 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by josee1013
Love this tread!


Here's my aussie ellegance, bottom of tank, 20K 400W MH and T5.
I have it for about 1 month now.. it already got bigger...

Does it look healthy?

It is definitely healthy. I have one almost identical to yours. The tentacles have got to be more than 3 inches long.

 

[elegance coral]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11275356#post11275356 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by LuvAngels88
Beautiful! Are the Aussie Elegances really easier to adapt to captive life?

Without a doubt. They don't even act like the same animal. Very different care requirements. If you are thinking of getting an Elegance, get an Aussie. They may cost a little more but they are well worth the extra money.

 

[elegance coral]

Elegance corals are not filter feeders. Tiny particles are simply not large enough to cause a feeding response from these corals. In fact, if you place a large amount of cyclop-eeze in a tank with an Elegance, it has the ability to shut off its stinging cells. This is probably an adaptation to living on sand beds. Every tide change or storm that comes through lifts sand and other small particles into the water. If the coral stung every tiny particle that touched its tentacles it would be a huge waist of very valuable venom. If you attempt to target feed and elegance with cyclop-eeze in a turkey baster, it may close up rapidly. Many people believe this is a feeding response, but it is a self defence response. Elegance corals feed on larger prey animals like fish and shrimp.

 

[cristhiam]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11281618#post11281618 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by elegance coral
I have had a lot of Elegance corals over the years, but I have never seen this. I do not believe it is a form of reproduction, though. It looks to me like the coral was damaged/punctured very near the fringe of tentacles. When the coral healed, it began growing tentacles around the wound. If this same wound would have been further away from the tentacles, it most likely would have just been an abnormal color pattern after it healed. I think it is very cool and certainly unique, but I do not believe it is trying to reproduce/split.

Thanks for the info I have it for 5 months now and that side is close to the glass but not touching anything. I'll keep an eye on it. Also is there away to tell if it's Aussie, I asked the LFS but they didn't know. Here is a full picture of it now.