Elegance Coral theory

[LuvAngels88]

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

[chris wright]

Originally posted 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]

Originally posted 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...

[capn_hylinur]

Originally posted 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)

[capn_hylinur]

Originally posted 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]

Originally posted 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]

Originally posted 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]

Originally posted 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]

Originally posted 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.

[LuvAngels88]

Originally posted by elegance coral
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.

Thanks, elegance. I really appreciate all the info you have provided all of us on these beautiful corals on this forum! I just placed an order for an Aussie elegance from LA. Thanks so much!!

[elegance coral]

Originally posted by cristhiam
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.

It is a frag just like most of the Aussie Elegance, but I don't believe it is from Australia. The coral shows signs of going through a very rough time. All of the Indo frags I have seen end up looking like yours. I have two just like this. The tentacles and the polyp itself has shrunk. I believe, this is due to being exposed to the cone shaped Indo Elegance corals while they are suffering from the infection they go through. The frags are from shallower water than the cone shaped Elegance, so they don't seem to have the same tissue damage. In time your Elegance should begin to expand more and it's tentacles will begin to get much longer. This will not happen over night though. Food is the key to giving it the energy to heal and grow.

[elegance coral]

Originally posted by LuvAngels88
Thanks, elegance. I really appreciate all the info you have provided all of us on these beautiful corals on this forum! I just placed an order for an Aussie elegance from LA. Thanks so much!!

You are very welcome. When your coral arrives, be sure to post a picture so we can all see it.

[elegance coral]

I just had to mention that this thread has topped 10,000 views! I had no idea this thread would be as successful as it has. I have also seen links posted to this thread on other sites.

I would like to thank everyone that has been a part of this thread. I hope it has been helpful. I know I have learned a great deal in the past 7 months since I first started it.

Thanks again
Darrell

[cristhiam]

Thanks Darrell for all your help and input!
Do you think mine looks streesed?
This is what it looked 5 months ago

[capn_hylinur]

Originally posted by elegance coral
I just had to mention that this thread has topped 10,000 views! I had no idea this thread would be as successful as it has. I have also seen links posted to this thread on other sites.

I would like to thank everyone that has been a part of this thread. I hope it has been helpful. I know I have learned a great deal in the past 7 months since I first started it.

Thanks again
Darrell

Actually we have you to thank Darrell

thread of the month--this should be nominated

[elegance coral]

Originally posted by cristhiam
Thanks Darrell for all your help and input!
Do you think mine looks streesed?
This is what it looked 5 months ago

Sorry I missed this post. I remember the thread you started back when you first got this Elegance. Your coral looks fine. It will have its good days and bad, but overall it will continue to grow and get stronger. Do you feed it?

[cristhiam]

Yes I feed it, not ofter but once in a while it gets shirmp, scalops, squid, I do feed cyclopezee, brine, once a week, flake food for the fish every other day.

[capn_hylinur]

eek-----just when my elegance coral was taking off--doing beautiful--I came home to find a 5 head torch coral had been pushed on it by an urchin.
3/4 of it came back by last night but I am concerned about 1/4 of it where the polyps are still retracted and covered with a white mucous.
Is this a normal stress response for elegant coral? I know my pagoda will do this when stressed.

[zeppelin]

Some very nice elegance pics showing up in this thread.

[gsellers1245]

great job on this thread darrell and thanks for the help on mine...keep it up man

[LuvAngels88]

Originally posted by elegance coral
I just had to mention that this thread has topped 10,000 views! I had no idea this thread would be as successful as it has. I have also seen links posted to this thread on other sites.

I would like to thank everyone that has been a part of this thread. I hope it has been helpful. I know I have learned a great deal in the past 7 months since I first started it.

Thanks again
Darrell

Congrats on the now well-over 10,000 views! As you can see, your helpful info has been invaluable to so many of us! Thanks!

I received my Aussie a few days ago. Keeping my fingers crossed!


[IMG][/IMG] [IMG][/IMG]

[hybridgenius]

How do these things look when they've just arrived from shipment? They say you have to place it in sand and that it has a "v" shape? I'm very interested in puchasing one. Also, where do you purchase your aussie ones?

[gsellers1245]

did it come cultured to a rock....its ususally just the skeleton.

[LuvAngels88]

Originally posted by hybridgenius
How do these things look when they've just arrived from shipment? They say you have to place it in sand and that it has a "v" shape? I'm very interested in puchasing one. Also, where do you purchase your aussie ones?

It was closed up into the skeleton when it arrived. It started opening up after an hour or so of being in the tank. I placed the "v" of the skeleton into a rock that has big holes in it. It was purchased from LiveAquaria.com.