Might have bought a big mistake (Elegance)

[iwishtofish]

The other day I walked into my LFS, and saw a beautiful elegance coral from Australia. SO, what do I do? :uhoh2:

Anyhow, it's pretty big (~8"x5"), paid for (a lot), and I'll pick it up tomorrow. So what's the problem, other than that impulse buys are never, ever good?

This:

* My tank is barebottom. I discovered they typically have a conical skeleton that many people stick in the sand. Now what am I going to do with that?

* The spaces I have are just big enough. If the flow is gentle, do I have to worry about the flesh touching the rocks?

* My flow is relatively linear in the spots where I want to place the coral. How does one create very gentle flow that is not linear? I had no luck trying to adjust my three powerheads.

Any advice, other than return it? I can't do that.

 

[mgraf]

I am no elegance expert, I have had one for two years now. You could always place the point of the skeleton in a small piece of PVC, maybe an inch or an inch and a half long. Depending on size and shape of the skeleton would determine the diameter of the PVC. I have also read on here of people keeping them on the rocks, some even prefer it. I would think that as long as the rock was not too jagged, there would be no problem. Also, placing a rock in the linear flow, and then placing the coral behind the rock to protect it from strong flow. This may help to reduce the blast effect. I love my elegance, it is a great coral. I often think about dedicating my reef floor to solely elegance corals. Maybe after I clear out some other corals first. Good luck with it and post a pic when you get it.

 

[elegance coral]

* My tank is barebottom. I discovered they typically have a conical skeleton that many people stick in the sand. Now what am I going to do with that?

Wedge the skeleton in the rocks, or PVC pipe so that it's secure, and won't fall over.

* The spaces I have are just big enough. If the flow is gentle, do I have to worry about the flesh touching the rocks?

No. That's a myth.

* My flow is relatively linear in the spots where I want to place the coral. How does one create very gentle flow that is not linear? I had no luck trying to adjust my three powerheads.

You'll just have to keep playing with the flow until you create a calm area for the coral.

Any advice, other than return it? I can't do that.

Give the coral plenty of room all the way around. It's probably much larger than it appears in the LFS. Especially keep soft corals away from it. Feed it small pieces of fish, or shrimp every once in a while, and you should be good.

 

[iwishtofish]

I am no elegance expert, I have had one for two years now. You could always place the point of the skeleton in a small piece of PVC, maybe an inch or an inch and a half long. Depending on size and shape of the skeleton would determine the diameter of the PVC. I have also read on here of people keeping them on the rocks, some even prefer it. I would think that as long as the rock was not too jagged, there would be no problem. Also, placing a rock in the linear flow, and then placing the coral behind the rock to protect it from strong flow. This may help to reduce the blast effect. I love my elegance, it is a great coral. I often think about dedicating my reef floor to solely elegance corals. Maybe after I clear out some other corals first. Good luck with it and post a pic when you get it.

Thanks for that advice. I will definitely post a picture!

Wedge the skeleton in the rocks, or PVC pipe so that it's secure, and won't fall over.

Ok, I'll email the LFS this morning, to get some details regarding the shape and depth of the skeleton. This will elevate the coral slightly, I'm sure, if I have it on the bottom glass. Should I expect this to be a problem?

No. That's a myth.

Good. I have a hunch the coral will expand to fill the area.

You'll just have to keep playing with the flow until you create a calm area for the coral.

I have realtively calm flow where I'd like to place it, it just flows mostly in one direction. Will this cause stress before I can obtain another powerhead?

Give the coral plenty of room all the way around. It's probably much larger than it appears in the LFS. Especially keep soft corals away from it. Feed it small pieces of fish, or shrimp every once in a while, and you should be good.

What, generally is the result if they become too cramped? Will they die? Stop growing? I want to place it where the Kole tang is swimming, in the photo below.

 

[iwishtofish]

I'm trying to fashion some kind of holder from either plastic or pvc. My main concern is to not have any sharp edges. The LFS told me the skeleton is wedge-shaped.

elegance coral, was it posts by you I read in an older forum thread, where it was mentioned a coral banded shrimp could pose a threat if it decides to walk across the oral disks? I, of course, have a big coral banded shrimp that likes to take swipes at my tang when it swims too close.

My light fixture is a 6-bulb Tek T5 HO, probably looking about 12k. It's about 37" from the bottom of the tank. A concern?

 

[elegance coral]

elegance coral, was it posts by you I read in an older forum thread, where it was mentioned a coral banded shrimp could pose a threat if it decides to walk across the oral disks? I, of course, have a big coral banded shrimp that likes to take swipes at my tang when it swims too close.

That was me, years ago. I was talking about the sickly Indonesian elegance corals, that basically have no self defense left. Healthy Australian elegance should have no problem putting a shrimp in its place.

My light fixture is a 6-bulb Tek T5 HO, probably looking about 12k. It's about 37" from the bottom of the tank. A concern?

I don't think this will be a problem. You'll just need to keep an eye on it, and acclimate it to your lighting, like you would any other coral.

 

[iwishtofish]

Thanks, elegance coral.

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Well, here goes!

 

[iwishtofish]

 

[iwishtofish]

Out a bit more now...

elegance coral: I have now met the bug that bit you!

 

[elegance coral]

elegance coral: I have now met the bug that bit you!

:lol: Ow you poor thing.:lol: :beer:

 

[iwishtofish]

The coral has retracted a bit for the night, as I read it likely would. I'm happy with the flow where it is, but not too optimistic at the likely situation if it expands bigger than it was at the LFS (maybe 3x what it was earlier tonight). I have a small galaxy coral not too far away, and a trumpet nearby. Something's gonna have to walk.

I'm also wondering if I need to fashion a permanent mount a bit lower. This may require me to take the point off the bottom of the skeleton, and I have heard testimony that this is risky - apparently the flesh of the elegance can run deep into the skeleton. How deep, I do not know.

I hope that I'm not risking the health of the coral by enabling the polyps to hang too far down, unsupported. Any advice on that would be much appreciated!

 

[iwishtofish]

The coral opened up a bit more today under full light, but not anywhere close to what it did at the LFS. Some of the tentacles inflated a little bit - I presume this is not good?

I'll try to post some pics within the next hour, showing the coral and where it is in relation to the light fixture.

 

[iwishtofish]

Well, here's day 2:

The CBS is showing more interest than I'd like. Sometimes it reaches out to touch the coral. Wonder why?

This picture is similar to one above, but a bit closer. I think I've noticed a little hole that is not a mouth, above the mouth. It isn't changing, and nothing is oozing or tattered...

And here is a picture showing how high my lights are over the coral. The fixture is very bright, but it is a 36" fixture over a 48" tank. Any opinions on the risk of too much light? Do aussie elegances tolerate this better?

Any input/advice is much appreciated. I really want to do this right. Does the coral look happy enough?

 

[iwishtofish]

Just found the obnoxious shrimp sitting directly on the scrunched up elegance coral. What gives?? Should I yank that little jerk out of there? I guess I'll see in the morning if there is any sign of damage.

 

[Rockys_Pride]

No idea, little bump for you though.

 

[iwishtofish]

No idea, little bump for you though.

Thanks!

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I don't really like flashing the tank at night, but I thought I'd do it anyway. The little jerk came back, despite some pellets meandering around the tank for it to eat. Lousy picture:

It will be interesting to see if this coral opens tomorrow.

 

[bellis31]

Oh man that little shrimp is gonna get it.. haha I wonder why it wants to bother that coral? It may just be curious. My shrimp and my hermit both check out everything but my shrimp never stays long or picks at corals like my hermit does.

 

[iwishtofish]

Oh man that little shrimp is gonna get it.. haha I wonder why it wants to bother that coral? It may just be curious. My shrimp and my hermit both check out everything but my shrimp never stays long or picks at corals like my hermit does.

No idea what he's up to, but I almost caught him tonight (well, this morning, now). I took my big net in one hand, and my long squirt feeder in the other - a couple times I had him in the net, but he darted free because I didn't have the leverage to lift the net high quickly enough. Then he finally shot into a hole in the rocks. Tomorrow will be interesting.

 

[iwishtofish]

Aha! Caught the shrimp, and dumped it in the sump. He can enjoy bristleworms there, for a while.

The coral, thankfully, was opening up this morning, but that shrimp was right there waiting!

I'd still be very grateful to get some more input on my questions up above!

 

[elegance coral]

Don't have much time right now, but I'd get that shrimp out. I don't know why these shrimp have a fascination with elegance corals. There are reports of them taring these corals open to get at food inside. I've never personally witnessed this, but I have seen them cause damage.