Australian Elegence Coral

[jwavec]

My tank is about a year old and my LFS has a beautiful elegance coral. Anybody have any experience with these? Do they do well in home aquariums? I know the Indonesian ones do not fare well. The LFS also told my that I should get his because the Elegance corals are hard to come by. Not sure if that was a sales pitch or the truth.

[stuccodude]

i got one, same set up even 1 year old and doesnt seem to be doing well, maybe my t5's are not enough for him, good luck

[techreef]

there are articles out in the recent past discussing the decline in general health of elegance corals. Do some Google searches. The last one I read was good in that it talked about the spread of this suspected disease through elegance corals at holding facilities. They are great specimens, so do some reading. It didn't sound like the disease was uncurable, but you should know about it before you go and buy your LFS' coral so you can care for it if anything goes south. Good luck!

[phenom5]

Have you dropped by the LPS forum? Here are a few threads that discuss elegance corals. I don't know if I'd say that elegances are that hard to come by, that part sounds like a sales pitch too me. And from what I understand the ones from Austrailia tend to do better then the Indonesian, but I don't know a whole lot about them...other than the fact that they're beautiful looking corals.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1109727

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1299028

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1303637

[currentking]

How long has your lfs had it? I wsa told they show signs of the disease within a week or 2. So if he has had it for awhile then it should be ok. They love very stable water conditions. Maintain the same temp. I just got one a couple weeks ago from a guy who has had it over a year and it is doing great. Mine is an endo. Good luck

[jonbry123]

As mentioned above you should read some of the links provided. I have had 8 in the last 6 years and all died. My RT has perfect paramiters for SPS and LPS corals and have not problems with any others. No one is really sure why these corals which years ago were as easy as mushrooms but the fact is it is RARE now for them to survive. I really would not spend the money on this animal as its chances of survival are miniscule. Even my two LFS will not bring them in any more as dozens over the years whether kept by them or bought by customers have all died.

Scott

[papagimp]

Maybe they like dirtier water like some other corals in the same family. years ago I don't think tanks were being kept as nutrient free or clean like we do nowadays. Just a thought.

fwiw, I see them constantly at LFS's here. Doesn't seem hard to come by at all, just gotta have the right vendor I guess.

[Savas]

I would avoid it. They do not do well in captivity and I do not know anyone, anyone, who has kept one longer than a year. Some beauty should remain in the sea.