elegance thread
- Thread starter JM68
- Start date
elegance coral
They call me EC
Are you talking about this? Elegance coral theory. If so, you can skip the first half of the thread. We were really struggling to understand what was going on back then.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1109727
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1109727
Last edited:
elegance coral
They call me EC
To answer your question from the other thread, here is a pic of some Indo Pacific Elegance corals.
There is no way to be 100% sure of where an Elegance came from. We can get pretty darn close though. Most, but not all, Indo Elegance have cone shaped skeletons. The tentacles are short and stubby. If the coral has not bleached, it will have very, very dark zooxanthellae. The overall health of the coral will be poor when first imported into the states. The three larger Elegance corals in this pic are recovering from this problem and have been in captivity for some time. It is rare to find Indo Elegance corals this healthy.
These are shots of Aussie Elegance corals. Most of these corals are frags of much larger, meandering skeletal structured Elegance corals. The tentacles are much longer and the overall health is much better. The first photo shows what they look like shortly after the fragging process. The second photo shows their potential after they have healed and been in captivity for a while.
There is no way to be 100% sure of where an Elegance came from. We can get pretty darn close though. Most, but not all, Indo Elegance have cone shaped skeletons. The tentacles are short and stubby. If the coral has not bleached, it will have very, very dark zooxanthellae. The overall health of the coral will be poor when first imported into the states. The three larger Elegance corals in this pic are recovering from this problem and have been in captivity for some time. It is rare to find Indo Elegance corals this healthy.
These are shots of Aussie Elegance corals. Most of these corals are frags of much larger, meandering skeletal structured Elegance corals. The tentacles are much longer and the overall health is much better. The first photo shows what they look like shortly after the fragging process. The second photo shows their potential after they have healed and been in captivity for a while.
vaporize
New member
I have to say that my observation differs a bit, indo elegance tends to come in very bright color and comes in almost all color morphs of the aussie ones & other region including purple tip and very neon green and yellow. However their survival record tends to limit to 1 -2 months max with receding tissue that drops from the skeleton.
By cone shape, I think you mean that half curved U-cone shape indicating it is a full colony (as suppose to a frag of the aussie one).
elegance coral
They call me EC
These pictures illustrate what I am talking about when I use the term "cone shaped". The skeleton resembles a slightly flattened cone, or a V. The first photo illustrates the results of a coral with a very slow growth rate. The second photo illustrates a fast growth rate.
As far as color goes, I didn't even mention the corals secondary or photosynthetic pigments. What I did say, was that if the coral had not bleached, it would have very dark zooxanthellae. This is a result of the light the coral received in the ocean. At greater depths there is less light, so the coral houses a larger population of zooxanthellae to supply the nourishment needed. This gives the coral a much darker appearance. This is what we see in the Indo Pacific Elegance corals due to the fact that they are collected at much greater depths. In comparison, the Aussie Elegance corals have a lighter brown color. This indicates that they were collected in much shallower water where a smaller population of zooxanthellae is sufficient to supply nourishment and not poison the coral with an over abundance of oxygen.
vaporize
New member
Thanks Elegance, I got the cone shape part. I do see some cones with various T off skeleton, I will see if I can buy it next time and show you.
However I do not see the indo elegance come in with very dark brown or heavy brown color as shown in your brown elegance before. I see some more of the very neon and green colour as suppose to the dark color. I can believe a few are bleached but almost all of the indo shipment come in with varying degrees of neon yellow to greenish color, maybe only one out of two dozen or so come in with that dark brown color, it is in very uncommon. And I am seeing this shipment after shipment, these are direct imports (so no wholesale distribution involved).
Would you happen to have a picture of the skeleton of an aussie one?
However I do not see the indo elegance come in with very dark brown or heavy brown color as shown in your brown elegance before. I see some more of the very neon and green colour as suppose to the dark color. I can believe a few are bleached but almost all of the indo shipment come in with varying degrees of neon yellow to greenish color, maybe only one out of two dozen or so come in with that dark brown color, it is in very uncommon. And I am seeing this shipment after shipment, these are direct imports (so no wholesale distribution involved).
Would you happen to have a picture of the skeleton of an aussie one?
elegance coral
They call me EC
I did just take some pics of the skeletons from some Indo Elegance corals that had the meandering skeletal structure like most of the Aussies, however they did not come out well. I will have to take some more pics. I have never had an Aussie die on me so I don't have any of their skeletons.
We seem to be talking about two different things. All Elegance corals have two different colors, not counting the tips of their tentacles. They have their secondary or photosynthetic pigments that are different shades of green. This can be any where between a very pale yellowish color to a blinding fluorescent green. These colors are very near the surface of the tissue. In the areas that are void of these pigments the coral should appear brown if it has not bleached. Again, this color can vary. It can be a very dark chocolate brown or a very light tan. This color is produced by the corals zooxanthellae/algae. The more zooxanthellae the coral has the darker this brown color will be. If the coral has adapted to a dimly lit environment there will be a large population of zooxanthellae causing a dark brown color. As the coral adapts to brighter light it will regulate the population of zooxanthellae in its tissues by discharging them causing the brown color to fade. This is a closeup of an Elegance showing the two different colors.
We seem to be talking about two different things. All Elegance corals have two different colors, not counting the tips of their tentacles. They have their secondary or photosynthetic pigments that are different shades of green. This can be any where between a very pale yellowish color to a blinding fluorescent green. These colors are very near the surface of the tissue. In the areas that are void of these pigments the coral should appear brown if it has not bleached. Again, this color can vary. It can be a very dark chocolate brown or a very light tan. This color is produced by the corals zooxanthellae/algae. The more zooxanthellae the coral has the darker this brown color will be. If the coral has adapted to a dimly lit environment there will be a large population of zooxanthellae causing a dark brown color. As the coral adapts to brighter light it will regulate the population of zooxanthellae in its tissues by discharging them causing the brown color to fade. This is a closeup of an Elegance showing the two different colors.
Underwaterparadise
New member
Actually I would say most of them that come in look extremley healthy and start to decline after weeks in captivity. In fact I was at a supplier last month and the 10+ elegance corals were extremly bright green in color with vibrant purple tips and most of them expanded after about 10 min. in the tanks!
vaporize
New member
This is a closeup of an Elegance showing the two different colors.
[/B]
You mean the main body of it showing a darker pattern and a lighter pattern? I actually believe that's the coral's natural color pattern as suppose to a single color body like most of the aussie stuff. Most aussie elegance only come in with a single color for the whole body, at most it has lines that are going outwards like yours.
I will try to see if I can snatch up some pics in today's shipment before all the crazy ppl pick them all up (regardless of their survivability).
As for "Underwaterparadise"'s comments, I absolutely agreed with that observation after seeing multiple shipments coming in for the last 1-2 years. Usuallly they look awesome in both coloration and expansion and health for the first 3 days, then decline starts within 1 week to 4 weeks; usually dead by a month's mark. I have crazy friends that pickup literally half dozen of them every indo shipment and reported the similiar report to me.
elegance coral
They call me EC
I have not seen an Elegance that I would call extremely healthy come out of the Indo Pacific in many years. I haven't even seen a picture of a healthy new arrival on the Internet. They do look better the first day or two they are here than they do a week or two later. However, the degrading health starts long before they get here. If you compare these corals to the Elegance corals we were getting 15 or 20 years ago, or to Elegance corals that have been in the hobby for several years, or even to the Aussie corals you will see a huge difference. People have been seeing these Elegance corals come in from the Indo Pacific that expand about an inch and a half, at best, from the skeleton in all directions and assume they are healthy. They are not healthy. This is why they come down with infections shortly after arrival. If you can find a new arrival from the Indo Pacific that expands close to 4 inches from the skeleton in all directions with long flowing tentacles then you have found a healthy one. Unfortunately, the days of those corals are over.
Using the color of the corals photosynthetic pigments is not a good way to judge the health of a new arrival to the states. I have seen these corals keep these bright colors right up to the point that they melt away and die. The best way for us to judge the health of an Elegance is through its polyp expansion, tentacle length, population of zooxanthellae, and the power of its sting or number of nematocysts.
elegance coral
They call me EC
Most of the corals with the meandering skeletal structures have these lines that radiate out from the mouths to the fringe of tentacles like spokes in a wheel. This does not differ between the corals from the Indo Pacific and Australia. It differs between corals with cone shaped skeletons and meandering skeletons. Regardless of where they are from. Even in these corals you can still see the brown zooxanthellae between the green lines. They just have a different pattern of green photosynthetic proteins. These corals still have the two basic colors that are caused by the same things as the colors of all other Elegance corals.
