Elegance coral...who's got tips?

[sammystingray]

Well....I get home from work, and it seems we now own an elegance coral.. . Just looking for thoughts and tips on elegance corals....440 VHO, 90 gallon, I plan to probably feed silversides twice a week and I am thinking about the sandbed for placement....I always liked them, but because they are aggressive, I never bought one. I would especially like to hear from anyone with one year plus success, but any elegance keepers are of course welcome to jump in as well...please let me know your placement in what size tank? Lights? how long you've had it? feeding? Any and all info is greatly appreciated. In past posts it was mentioned that due to them becoming more scarce, they are collecting from deeper water....is this true? Could this mean heavier feedings are needed than before because these guys are used to more food/less light?? Thanks in advance...pics are always welcome as well.....I'll get one in a little while...just got home.

 

[the claw]

I'd love to help you out, but I can't get one to survive shipping.

 

[casey]

I have had an elegance coral for over a year in my 75 gallon reef tank. I feed it brine shrimp, silver sides, as well as cyclopeese in the whole tank which it seems to love. It always bigger and fuller after I feed the tank. My frog spawn behaves the same way. Anyway, being a novice tank owner when I bought the elegance, I put it on the live rock, although I now know they prefer the substrate. It is on a piece of live rock that is like a bridge between two areas and it has stretched and stretched trying to reach the sand. It has tripled in size since I have bought it.
The fish don't seemed bothered by it. The flame angel picks shrimp from it from time to time. A roving green tip bulb anemone was bothering it for awhile and the elegance started shrinking up. Luckily, the anemone found another area to live for awhile.
I will try to attach a picture of the elegance. I believe I have one in my files.
Hope some of this helps - although I'm a little intimated giving any advice to someone who has had a lot more experience than I have had at this.
Casey

 

[chinnyr]

I finally got rid of mine because it grew so large and the sweepers were stinging everything.I am looking to find a small one for my new tank.When I first got it I only had 4 no lights on the tank and it even did fine under those.I placed it in a medium flow area about a third of the way from the top.I did'nt give it direct flow either.When I updated to 440w vhos I left it in the same spot.I never fed anything special to it,and it would get some frozen brine every so often when I fed the fish.I fragged it when I moved the first time,and lost the frag the second time I moved.It disappeared somewhere in the tank.Hope this helps a little.

 

[jonthefb]

sammy ive had mine in my 135 at home for about 2 years no and it shows no signs of slowing down......it was originally placed medium heighth in th etank in the rockwork, but never opened fully...we gradually moved it down and onto the sandbed, where it remains and it is doing great....it gets medium water flow from two 3/4 inch sea swirls, and is kinda in a dimly lit cove.....it definately still get light form the three halides, but not as much as when it was originally in the rockwork! it gets fed twice a week with 3 or 4 peices of krill, and since the addition of a calcium reactor, and the steady feeding routine the thing has tripled in size since it was first purchased!
good luck man
jon

 

[spsfreak100]

Originally posted by SquishyFish
I have heard that they dont do well placed on their sides...Is there any truth to this?
Yes.
Elegance corals need to be mounted vertically instead of horizontally as this is their natural position on the reef. Evidently they will not survive otherwise...this could explain things a bit.
As far as deep water corals go, elegance corals have become harder and harder to take care of. In the early years of reefing, elegance corals used to be very hardy, but now they have become non hardy. People used to be collecting elegance corals from the sandy costal waters in very shallow areas. These were much more hardy, and have a brighter green color, with fatter, and wider tentacles. The non hardy elegance corals are usually collected from deeper waters, which tend to have a paler color to them, with usually longer tentacles.
Graham