elegance

[frlejo]

I had an elegane coral couple of years ago, no problem. Picked another 1 up, now I read they are having problems surviving. Got mine under pc lights in a 55, any one have any thoughts on this. LFS had it quite awhile under NO flourescents.

[tdwyatt]

Originally posted by frlejo
I had an elegane coral couple of years ago... ...any one have any thoughts on this. LFS had it quite awhile under NO flourescents.

What does the specimen look like now? does it have long flowing tentacles, or does it have short stubby tentacles? These creatures are found in lagoonal seagrass or murky conditions, they do not require per se bright sunny conditions, but do require external nutrition, especially when coming to your tank. Keeping these little beauties for 6 months does not mean that they survived in your system, only that it takes about 4 to 6 months to use up their stored nutrition before they succumb to some other condition that kills them if they don't starve in the first place. Photosynthesis is not the major part of their nutrition, but prey capture is... I also suspect that shipping stresses and holding are now playing a major role in the demise of these creatures as "beginner's corals": The fleshy polyps are very easily cut by the septa of the skeleton, and rough shipping, combined with inadequate holding and shipping in general all mostlikely contribute to their large numbers of deaths due to opportunistic infections and the like in the last few years. (The above statements about shipping, etc are my opinions, not documented facts. The feeding and survival information is not opinion). Placement in the aquarium should be in areas of the substrate where they can expand (and they will dramatically!) without abrading their tissue against LR (Placement in LR is prolly not a good idea for this reason, as these abrasions usually lead to brown jelly infections and the ultimate demise of the specimen) Changes in lighting or current conditions can often lead to recession of the tissue, that may last for weeks to months, during which time, the polyps are recovering or recruiting new zooxanthellae, They will often snap back with new colors and/or shades of their old coloration. Remember that Catalaphyllia Jardinei are[i]very[/] sensitive to the presence of soft corals and react poorly to the presence of Caulerpa macroalgae. Proper placement of these corals is with their cone-shaped skeletons buried in the substrate and their tentacles exposed directly to a mild current. When they are expanded, it should be difficult to distinguish them from sand-dwelling species of anemone. They have been reported to be susceptible to bristleworms irritation, but I could not document this in the literature, although this came to me from good sources.

Hope this helps, I recently lost a specimen after it was attached by a wandering Condylactis sp. anemone. I considered banishing the Condy to the refugium, but it just seems to be part of the cycle. I guess now I will be looking for one of the dark-pigmented specimens next.

[frlejo]

What does the specimen look like now? does it have long flowing tentacles, or does it have short stubby tentacles?

This is only the 2nd day, it is a purple tip, hasn't opened up yet, so really don't know what the tentacles are like. will move it to a shady spot, & try acclimating it to the pc's.

[tdwyatt]

Originally posted by frlejo
... will move it to a shady spot, & try acclimating it to the pc's.

It will need light, just not glaring direct MH intensity light. PC on the substrate will be fine, as long as your tank is not too deep (ie more than 10 to 12 inches to the substrate. I have seen posts that declare that lighting is the answer, or that feeding is the answer, or that water chemistry is the answer, micronutrients, etc. etc. etc. unfortunately at this point, all we can do is supply good water parameters, adequate current and decent appropriate lighting, feed it and hope for the best. BTW, they are quite agressive feeders, seem to take even cm sized cubes of shrimp and fish well. They will feed by tentacular adhesion once the polyps open up. I would go for your permanent placement while the polyps is deflated, as it is very easy to damage the coenosarc if you move it while it is inflated. Shade the specimen if needed with some basketry or some like material, then gradually uncover it as it builds tolerance to the conditions in your tank.

Hope this helps

[rayjay]

It's been my experience that light isn't the determining factor, especially when most of them come from turbid waters. Twice a week feedings are more important in my estimation.
With the elegance placed in the substrate, leave enough room around it to place a bottle with the bottom cut out, over the coral. (I've used a windshield washer bottle, cleaned out well of course) I weigh the bottle with a homemade weight made of cement in a plastic "donut" scoffed from the grandkids no longer used toy of progressive sized "donuts" over a tapered tower.
Remove the cap and squirt in phyto and/or plankton and replace the cap. I leave it for about 4 hours before removing the bottle. Having a large protein skimmer helps if you dose more than you should.
If you have an elegance that has shorter tentacles now than when you obtained it, this can be the answer to the length returning again. If you don't have a substrate, you can make a flat bottom on the skeleton with a two part epoxy so the coral sits up ok.