Question On a Elegance Coral

veloccity · 04/23/2015, 11:31 PM

Hello all.

After spending a good bit of time researching, I went to my LFS with a few ideas in mind of what I wanted and with an intent to by a green toadstool coral (Sarcophyton).

Well I did get a small frag... and a Elegance Coral (Catalaphyllia jardinei)The LFS clerk did his job, and assured me that this specimen was in great health, and was aqua cultured from Australia. It had great polyp extension and looked to be very healthy. So despite my best judgment I pulled the trigger.

Of course now I am worried and regretting the decision...

Can I get a few thoughts on the coral? How does it look? It generally retracts its polyps in the evening when the lights go out, and fully extends them throughout the day. There are times were the flesh is more open then others and this seems to vary. I have read many of the threads here from 08/09 with a inflation and then death.... Has much changed since then?

Specimen has been in the tank for about a 10 days. All photos are from today but it is more retracted than usual in these photos. The dark one is its retraction when the lights go off, it normally will completely retract like can be seen on the right side.

Thanks for any information.

amber3k · 04/24/2015, 12:29 AM

I've had two die. Both hyper inflated and had little tentacle extension. The first melted in about a weeks time after an injury and the second did the same (dont know why, not aware of an injury) but didn't melt, it just slowly shrunk in size over several weeks. I'm on my third now and I had it in the wrong place under metal halide lights. It also hyper inflated and shrunk but is making a come back. Good luck. I will never get another elegance again and hoping my guy makes a full recovery.

billdogg · 04/24/2015, 06:32 AM

It sounds to me like it is doing what Elegance corals do. I've had mine for nearly 2 years now. For the first year or so, every time it shriveled up like that my wife was convinced it was on it's way out. I think I have finally convinced her that it is just how it expels waste. It may look that way for a few hours or even a day or so.

They can be delicate shippers, so getting it established and comfortable is the key. Mine is on the bottom in about 3" of fine sand. (they are found in sandy lagoons in often mucky water) it will be happiest if you can provide a place where it can fully expand its flesh without it drooping over the side of the skeleton. Although they prefer moderate flow, mine is doing just fine front and center with ~30-40x turnover in the tank. It is somewhat sheltered by a couple rocks, but it still gets fairly brisk flow. It's skelton has easily tripled in size since I got it.

hth

ca1ore · 04/24/2015, 06:40 AM

I agree. Bury elegance in as much sand as you can so that the extended polyps can 'rest' on the sand. Not too much light or flow. It's a lagoon coral.

ska d · 04/24/2015, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ca1ore

I agree. Bury elegance in as much sand as you can so that the extended polyps can 'rest' on the sand. Not too much light or flow. It's a lagoon coral.

+1 and also get all those little rocks and stuff around it away from its tentacles. I find amd have been told they dont like touching anything. And shoukd be able to flow freely without bumpimg its tentacles

eddiereefs · 04/24/2015, 11:58 AM

Water parameters? Lighting. The elegence coral is not for the beginers, its one of the harder to keep in established tanks. People say because its hard to replicate the light as some are deeper water corals and some shallow, i know alot of people who have gone mad trying to keep them

shred5 · 04/24/2015, 12:16 PM

I have had mine for a couple years and has more than tripled in size..
It used to be in the sand bed but over the years the sand bed has disappeared down to about less than a 1". The base has grown so much It wold need to be a 5 or 6 inch sand bed to hold it up so I now use rock and it is fine. I dont think they like anything touching the edges of the rim though..

They are not beginner corals but if you get a hardy one right away they can be pretty hardy.. Medium light, medium flow, they appreciate a little food from time to time..
Mine is lit by t-5 lighting and it really seems to respond well to it.

veloccity · 04/24/2015, 02:56 PM

Thank you for all of the advise. I will bury it further into the sand and move it a little to the right/move white rock to get it further away from the rocks. Can anyone tell looking at it if the amount of light appears ok? I have some more shaded areas further back.

Lighting is the Quad-CF from JBJ stock on the Nanocube.. 105Watts I think. What I can test for:

Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, Phosphate: 0
dKH: ~9
Ca: 520

This is all I can test for at this time. Water change has been around 4 gallons every week, and I am transitioning to about 2.5 gallons a week now. Tank is new, sitting right at around 60 days old.

It is currently not being fed, and I intended on feeding it this weekend, and continue once a week.

Thanks again.

lllesley · 04/24/2015, 02:58 PM

They like a medium to high flow & lighting. If not in strong enough flow they have trouble getting food out of the water column. Your tank looks quite new ? How old is the tank ? They don't like high nitrates or phosphate like most other LPS, some are ok but most often when I hear of them not doing so well, its in a high nitrate level tank. Sorry i was posting this while you were answering the questions.
I would suggest that your tank only being 60 days old is the problem. They like stability, i would suggest that at 60 days your tank is cycled YES but not stable with numbers just yet. You need to be on top of your mag , cal and alk. I find it strange your nitrate levels are 0 in a 60day old tank. That is unusual, what test kits are you using. ?

veloccity · 04/24/2015, 03:16 PM

I found it strange too, but was only able to test with another test kit from the same company. Using API tube test kits.

My Nitrate has been 0 for around 30 days. I never really saw a cycle, I don't have my notebook here at work, but only had a trace amount of nitrite for a few days, and low nitrate's for around a month and then 0's across the board.

It was a mistake to buy it, that is for sure.

veloccity · 04/29/2015, 11:22 PM

Just wanted to thank everyone for the help. The coral is continuing to do OK and has opened up more and more as the days go on. For a few days after posting it had really closed up. Later in the week it opened up a bit more and I fed it. Readily ate and is now as open as it ever has been.

I did clear up the rocks around it and buried it as deep as it can go.

Included a pic I took after about an hour of the lights being off.

Edit:

Just bought a Mag test and it came in at 1450 or so. Seemed to be in line.

04/24/2015, 06:32 AM	#3
billdogg Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Grove City, Ohio Posts: 10,806	It sounds to me like it is doing what Elegance corals do. I've had mine for nearly 2 years now. For the first year or so, every time it shriveled up like that my wife was convinced it was on it's way out. I think I have finally convinced her that it is just how it expels waste. It may look that way for a few hours or even a day or so. They can be delicate shippers, so getting it established and comfortable is the key. Mine is on the bottom in about 3" of fine sand. (they are found in sandy lagoons in often mucky water) it will be happiest if you can provide a place where it can fully expand its flesh without it drooping over the side of the skeleton. Although they prefer moderate flow, mine is doing just fine front and center with ~30-40x turnover in the tank. It is somewhat sheltered by a couple rocks, but it still gets fairly brisk flow. It's skelton has easily tripled in size since I got it. hth __________________ I'll try to be nice if you try to be smarter! I can't help that I grow older, but you can't make me grow up! Current Tank Info: 120 mixed reef with 40b sump, RO 150 skimmer, AI Sol Blue x 2, and a 60g Frag Tank with 100g rubbermaid sump. 2 x Kessil A360w lights, BM curve 5 skimmer

04/24/2015, 06:40 AM	#4
ca1ore Grizzled & Cynical Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Stamford, CT Posts: 17,319	I agree. Bury elegance in as much sand as you can so that the extended polyps can 'rest' on the sand. Not too much light or flow. It's a lagoon coral. __________________ Simon Got back into the hobby ..... planned to keep it simple ..... yeah, right ..... clearly I need a new plan! Pet peeve: anemones host clowns; clowns do not host anemones! Current Tank Info: 450 Reef; 120 refugium; 60 Frag Tank, 30 Introduction tank; multiple QTs

04/24/2015, 12:16 PM	#7
shred5 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Waukesha , WI Posts: 4,998	I have had mine for a couple years and has more than tripled in size.. It used to be in the sand bed but over the years the sand bed has disappeared down to about less than a 1". The base has grown so much It wold need to be a 5 or 6 inch sand bed to hold it up so I now use rock and it is fine. I dont think they like anything touching the edges of the rim though.. They are not beginner corals but if you get a hardy one right away they can be pretty hardy.. Medium light, medium flow, they appreciate a little food from time to time.. Mine is lit by t-5 lighting and it really seems to respond well to it. __________________ David Polzin

04/24/2015, 12:29 AM	#2
amber3k Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Post Falls, Idaho Posts: 251	I've had two die. Both hyper inflated and had little tentacle extension. The first melted in about a weeks time after an injury and the second did the same (dont know why, not aware of an injury) but didn't melt, it just slowly shrunk in size over several weeks. I'm on my third now and I had it in the wrong place under metal halide lights. It also hyper inflated and shrunk but is making a come back. Good luck. I will never get another elegance again and hoping my guy makes a full recovery.

04/24/2015, 11:58 AM	#6
eddiereefs Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2014 Posts: 575	Water parameters? Lighting. The elegence coral is not for the beginers, its one of the harder to keep in established tanks. People say because its hard to replicate the light as some are deeper water corals and some shallow, i know alot of people who have gone mad trying to keep them

04/24/2015, 02:56 PM	#8
veloccity Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Posts: 12	Thank you for all of the advise. I will bury it further into the sand and move it a little to the right/move white rock to get it further away from the rocks. Can anyone tell looking at it if the amount of light appears ok? I have some more shaded areas further back. Lighting is the Quad-CF from JBJ stock on the Nanocube.. 105Watts I think. What I can test for: Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, Phosphate: 0 dKH: ~9 Ca: 520 This is all I can test for at this time. Water change has been around 4 gallons every week, and I am transitioning to about 2.5 gallons a week now. Tank is new, sitting right at around 60 days old. It is currently not being fed, and I intended on feeding it this weekend, and continue once a week. Thanks again.

04/24/2015, 03:16 PM	#10
veloccity Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Posts: 12	I found it strange too, but was only able to test with another test kit from the same company. Using API tube test kits. My Nitrate has been 0 for around 30 days. I never really saw a cycle, I don't have my notebook here at work, but only had a trace amount of nitrite for a few days, and low nitrate's for around a month and then 0's across the board. It was a mistake to buy it, that is for sure.