Experiences with Elegance coral?

[Armando]

I've decided to give the Elegance coral a try. If doesn't work out, I won't try again. So I got one, it's the most beautiful coral I've seen, just unbelievable. Anyone wants to share experiences keeping it? Feeding/light/current/etc?

 

[SteveDola]

ask dawn hers is huge and healthy

 

[skyedolphan]

Armando , I have had an elegance going on 2.5 years now they REALLY like the higher nutient tanks I think yours may be too controlled for it unless you decide to back off on the params a bit my 2 ocerlarias have claimed mine and bring food to it as if it were a BTA but the elegance doesnt seem to mind but I did notice when I was running the new skimmer at full volume pulling all nutrients out as much as possible it was not too happy ( not extending as much as previously ) just MYO
also mine is in mid bottomof tank recently placed 4 inches off sand bed ( due to covering my brain coral all the time ) under 2x250 20k has been under everything from 2x400 10k -20k now to 2x250 14k and now 20k light dont seem to be a factor too much med flow so the body sways seems to be best HTH

LOL STeve thank you in the midst of typing and putting kids to bed you typed in LOL

 

[Greg Hiller]

I tried twice and failed twice. That was a few years ago, but I don't think I'll be trying again. It's very rare that I see a healthy one at a shop anymore.

 

[denvig]

Armando you may also want to talk to "B" at Skiptons he has had a lot of experience with them.

 

[Greg Hiller]

FWIW, Julian Sprung wrote an article a while back on the poor survivability of elegance corals over the last few years (they had been very hardy supposedly before that). He theorized that some sort of bacterial infection was occuring in them. He also mentioned that treating the coral with antibiotics for 2 days could cure the condition. Though I have not tried with an elegance, I recently was having a problem with an open brain Lobophyllia (my fault for putting it in poor conditions for a few days several weeks earlier), I used a bath of neomycin for two days and the coral clearly turned around. This was the first time I'd ever tried such a treatment.

 

[Armando]

Before I bought the coral I did some reading on the problems with keeping it, including Eric's project, but could not find anything that clearly described how to find out if the coral was healthy or sick. But many places said that most sick corals were the pinkish type, that were probably collected in different areas with different conditions than the ones that usually do well in captivity, the purple tipped ones (the one I got)

I fed him and he ate OK, I'll keep feeding on a "every other day" basis. Dawn I am feeding the tank quite heavily but I also have a pretty strong filtration system, which is going to be even stronger with my upcoming new beefy skimmer

 

[SherryQ]

I bought one this past summer. It has been doing very well until recently when it got stung by a nearby hammer and it now has some tissue recession. I have it on the bottom of the sand near the front glass. They definitley like to be fed. For lighting I have 2 250w MH and actinics.
Good Luck!