elegance (elegant) coral experience?

[thekingfish]

I know that most people's recent experience with elegance corals does not have a happy ending. But I was wondering what the experience of people here on RF has been with this coral.
I myself am currently 0 for 1.
Got one a couple months ago which did great for 2 months.
Then it started bloating with shrunken tentacles and what looked like digestive innards covering the edges. Then it just fell apart.
Has anyone here or anyone you know of kept one of the recently imported ones for more than a couple months?

 

[The Apprentice]

Same story for me as well kingfish i have tried 2 so 0 for 2 the first on lasted about 4 months the second one i was able to get a year out of it I tried every thing hand feedings My clowns took to It. I Tried diffrent flows and lights just could never keep them happy long term .
No more for me...

I know that most people's recent experience with elegance corals does not have a happy ending. But I was wondering what the experience of people here on RF has been with this coral.
I myself am currently 0 for 1.
Got one a couple months ago which did great for 2 months.
Then it started bloating with shrunken tentacles and what looked like digestive innards covering the edges. Then it just fell apart.
Has anyone here or anyone you know of kept one of the recently imported ones for more than a couple months?

 

[CarlaW]

I am 0 for 1, and I am not gonna try again either.

 

[thekingfish]

Apprentice,
What was the decline like on the one that lasted a year?
Was it a gradual thing or a rapid onset and what were the symptoms preceding the decline?
I'm surprised it died after a year in the tank. I would have thought it was a keeper after that long...since it seems most die within 2 months.

 

[spongebob lover]

i've been reading threads about this coral in another website and i believe it's a very dificult coral to keep.. they need to be fed, good water conditions and all that stuff.
i believe the symptoms are shrinking(even with the lights off) or getting big puffy (as in balloon), tenticles not opening as like in anemone look.

i believe you gotta feed it often and not touching rocks because it seems like the tissue is very delicate .

Anyways just some pointers dood.

 

[thekingfish]

People have tried the feeding, high/low light, high/low flow, clean/dirty tank and everything in between it seems with little to no success unfortunately.

 

[The Apprentice]

What was the decline like on the one that lasted a year?

It was in steps It was fine for the first 6 months Then just Rapid decline for a month or two, I was able to stablize it Not sure just how I was target feeding daily I moved it all over but Mid level in my tank seemed best. On rock work not in the sand as it was Intended I did try sand But the coral just wasn't happy. I am no coral expert but I have been told By Travis the owner of Upscales In Portland that alot of elegance corals were originally taken from Lagoons and shallower water These elegance corals seem to do well in reef tanks But as demand for these Increased Suppliers were forced to harvest elegance corals from deeper depths and these seem to be the ones that we are having the trouble with.
I just know That These are a expert species of coral to keep And In My Mixed LPS reef I was not able to keep both of mine long term I tried every thing you posted about HI light Low light Hi flow Low flow Rock sand crushed coral I just was not able to get past a year with mine. Good luck kingfish I hope you can find a way to keep them, But I think you will have to get some input who has able to maintain these long term. And I bet if you do find them their tank will be a elegance corals species only tank ...Jeff

Apprentice,
What was the decline like on the one that lasted a year?
Was it a gradual thing or a rapid onset and what were the symptoms preceding the decline?
I'm surprised it died after a year in the tank. I would have thought it was a keeper after that long...since it seems most die within 2 months.

 

[spongebob lover]

But I think you will have to get some input who has able to maintain these long term. And I bet if you do find them their tank will be a elegance corals species only tank ...Jeff

yeap.
i saw a couple of pics in RC of some dood's tank and he had 2 elegance corals... they were all over his tank .

 

[redrooster]

When I wanted one my dealer told me the same thing about the shallow/deep water thing. He said 5 years ago they used to all come from shallow water and were very easy to keep. Now they all come from deep water. So they would therefore be used to low light, probably less flow. Maybe even the pressure difference is an issue, but I would think that that would manifest itsself rather quickly not after a few months. Either way my dealer basically told me to stay away from them and get something else. Another dealer in the area has one in his dispaly that is an older one and it is huge. A large one is good health is truly and magnificent specimen.

 

[EDDIEMUNSTER1]

Had One For About Two Months Now, Doing Really Well, No Special Treatment, It's Situated At The Top Of My Tank On Rock, No Direct Flow, No Direct Light. Want To Post Some Pics Of It But I Am Struggling To Compress My Photos Down To 100kb (bit Of A Novice When It Comes To Technology Can Get Them Down To 103kb Any Ideas)?

 

[thekingfish]

You can upload your pics to photobucket.com.
Seems like people in England are having better success with elegances for some reason.

 

[Brenden]

I had one for about 5-6 months. Seemed to be doing well then all of a sudden it died?

 

[thekingfish]

Brenden,
Was the elegance being fed regularly?
And what was the signs right before it died...did the flesh detach from the skeleton, did you see white filaments around the edges where it was attached to the base?

 

[Brenden]

It bloated up one day and the tenticles stayed short. The following day one of the heads on one end did not expand at all. You could see the skeleton under the flesh. Next day two were like that etc. Just melted away. Water parameters etc were all in check. I had a mixture of cyclopeeze, phyto, brine, and finley chopped mysis that I would fill the water column with about once a week for all the corals. I would always add food up current and let it drift across the coral. Never directly squirted the food on it.

 

[EDDIEMUNSTER1]

As Promised Here Is My Elegance (sorry About The Poor Quality Photo).

 

[Sherman]

Eric Borneman has put some pretty extensive study into the recent poor survivability of this coral. They used to be considered "easy" corals, but now have an almost 0% survival rate. Here's the beginnings, a Web search for "Borneman elegance" or something of the like should produce all sorts of hits:

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-02/eb/feature/index.php