Elegance ... Going to make it!

[NaCl_H2O]

First pic is of the large Elegance coral I picked up from "jonreed" yesterday. This is a very unique piece, not at all like other elegance corals I have seen. Maybe it is something entirely different? PVC in the pic is for size comaprison - that is a 3/4" PVC nipple.

LMK if you can ID or confirm it is an elegance. Still acclimating, so it may not be fully open. Have it under PCs now (like it was in his tank) and will slowly aclimate it under various lighting to get it ready for 10K MHs.

Last two pics are what I picked up at WolfReef yesterday :D

[GaryP]

Yeppers, that looks like an Elegance. I hope it does well for you. Most of the older books say that elegance is an easy to care for coral, however, for some reason the colonies that are being collected now do not seem to be doing as well. Remember that it is a very agressive coral and will sting any SPS or less aggressive corals around it.

Those are a nice open brain and Torch as well. They should do well for you. The torch, like other Euphyllias is an aggressive coral as well.

[NaCl_H2O]

Jon had the elegance for 3 months under PCs, and the prior owner had it in a show tank for a year before that ... so I am hoping this is an older piece from shallower water that will survive :)

I have already had one deep water elegance melt away on me :(

[GaryP]

It sounds like you got a good one then. Cool!

I just wanted to throw that out about the Elegance because when someone sees one like yours they have a tendency to run out and get one for themselves. As I said, the survival rate for them is very low and anyone buying one should be aware of that. I know there is one LFS in SA that commonly carries them in stock. IMO they are better left in the wild and not collected. You may have hot on the key to why some survive and some do not. Collectors will often start collecting the easily obtained shallow water corals. As these stocks are depleted they go deeper and deeper to collect them. The deeper water individulas depends less on zooanthellae and more on feeding strategies for survival. They may simply starve in a typical reef tank or go into shock due to the high light levels.

[alexwolf]

I refuse to buy them for stock. I get these box lot specials, and everytime there have goniopora and elegance listed in them. I make them pull those out before they ship to me :)

[alexwolf]

Yep, constantly trying to pawn stuff off on me. I fight it every time. They sent me sun polyps, carnations, goni, elegance, and even the fish guys do it. I ask for reef safe fish and I get a Hardwicks wrasse that I cant give away at cost! Anglers, triggers, lol. List goes on and on.

[GaryP]

If all LFS owners did the same as Alex, the wholesalers would have these corals stack up and the demand for them would die. I think the same should apply to carnation corals too. A lot of these corals should be special order items only for folks that know how to deal with them.

Importers like Walt Smith should know better.

[alexwolf]

Problem is they appeal to the "impulse buy" sensory part of the brain. As long as there are people more concerned with making money than selling quality livestock, they will continue to be collected and die in captivity. :(

[GaryP]

Exactly. I think a lot of LFS owners don't bother to learn about the corals they sell, or the info they are basing their buying decisions is out of date, as in the case of the Elegance.

An LFS owner who's primary interests is FW or predators, for example, is not likely to know the details of the care of a coral such as an elegance or gonipora. All they know is that they are sold quickly and the sales price on them is good. Unfortunately, they are not able to give advice on these type of corals and IMO their clientele are generally less knowlegeable as well. I'm not speaking of any particular LFS, or owner, but rather making some general comments based on what I have seen in several LFS in several cities I have lived or visited over the years.

[alexwolf]

Yep, I can buy a goniopora for $10-12. They have blues, greens, and reds on the list. I think the greens are $10 plus freight. Profit potential is there, but its not worth losing a customer to make a slightly bigger margin. There is nothing worse than a customer telling me how something died in their tank. I want to avoid that as much as possible.

[GaryP]

I wish other LFS owners felt the same way Alex. Heck, I just wish more of them knew better. We have several members that have successfully kept Gonipora and Alveopora alive for years. I applaud their skill and luck. The problem is that many less experienced folks see their success and say that if they can do it, so can I. I think there is often a bit of ego attached to some of these types of corals. From what I have heard, Gonipora rarely dies immediately. It usually takes about a year for them to die which just reinforces my theory about starvation and stress being the culprits in their demise.

[jonreed]

looks like its opening up pretty good for ya. excited to see what it does when you put the mh's on him! keep me posted. i like the brain you picked up too, he's nice.

[Polkster13]

Yeah, I got stuck with a green flower pot and I am "giving it away" to anyone that thinks they can give it a good home. It is not going to last in my frag tank. Was not happy when I say they had put one in my bulk coral box. I will not order a bulk coral box from them again. If anyone knows someone that would like to take this off of my hands, please have them call me. I would rather take the loss and find it a good home than have it die in my frag tank. I have posted the particulars under a thread in the Retailers section.

Thanks.

[NaCl_H2O]

Well, I think my Elegance coral I got from Jonreed is going to make it :)

Hope this isn't jinxing it, but after several weeks acclimating to brighter light, and several reef dips, it seems to be coming out of it and regenerating flesh where it was infected. :D

Keep your fingers crossed!!!

[JimD]

Have you been feeding it?

[NaCl_H2O]

Have you been feeding it?

Not direct feeding, but I provide lots of Brine, Mysis, and Phyto into the water column?

[JimD]

I bet it would dig on a chunk of silverside or krill! If it eats, thats a good sign of its condition. Give er a shot!