Elegance Coral Problem

[bluefyre88]

Hi all...about a week ago i purchased an elegance coral from a reputable store...the coral was very healthy and was opened about a foot. It was a pinkish color. The guy said he closed it up and put it in the bag for shipping. I have purchased things from him before and they are all very good. I put it in my tank and it has never opened up. I placed it on the bottom of the tank in my sand bed. It has a low amount of water flow. I started the tank out about 2 monthes ago so all there is is 1 live rock, with a cave a coral beauty and i put in a clownfish at the same time. Also there is a green button coral on the other side of the tank. Its a 55gal. tank. I tested my ph which was 8.3, i tested my nitrates nitrites and ammonia...all 0. I've been adding calcium, strontium, magnesium, trace regularly as per the directions. I have VHO lighting ... about 250 watts total. 4 bulbs. Why wont it open up? Is it dead? .. Sick? What can i do to make it healthy again....o also i have no uv sterilyzer....and my protein skimmer broke...but the guy at the store said i didn't need it yet anyway.....he knows what hes talkking about but why wont this thing open...greatly frustrated! ...i thank you for you help....please respond quickly
-blue

 

[Great Lakes]

Well Blue,

Your lighting is on the minimal side, but should have at least been adequate for maintaining the elegance to a degree. They would prefer a more moderate water flow, yet you should have seen some sort of polyp extension within a week. I fear the worst for you!
What did you do to acclimate the coral to your tank conditions?

I would also add that I see little or no reason for you to be dosing anything. With only 1 piece of live rock, and a some buttons, you are certainly not using up any trace elements. You in fact have most likely overdosed and this could be your trouble.

What kind of filtration are you running?

GL

 

[bluefyre88]

i'm running a magnum 350 and a aqua clear 100 i'm using the micron cartridge w/ the magnum ....when you say you fear the worst for me...is there anything i can do i have also done several water changes ..... moderate water flow...how can i achieve this without spending a lot of money??? ...would adding more live rock help???thanks
-blue

 

[Navarre]

Noamount of liverock will help with this problem IMO. What the coral needs is the correct conditions and liverock will only help with filtration, looks and perhaps some micro life.
Your coral needs light and flow. the food it needs is minimal whencompared to the other requirements. So you will need to increase your lights substancially. Try to put the coral in a slightly higher turbulance. not in direct flow but in an area that will make a decent amount of movement around the coral.

Without light, the symbiotic algae cannot produce the enrgy for the coral to digest any food it catches.

 

[bluefyre88]

i'm using about 250 watts of light in the tank....i thought this was a significant amount!...i have 4 bublbs....2 blue and 2 white ... their VHO....and 65 watts each...the only thing using the light is the green button coral...isnt this a large amount of light?? if not ... what else do i need? .. i moved the elegance on top of the 1 rock in the tank and it seems to have opened up a little more...however i did notice 2 things. 1. the tenticles are about 1mm diameter and about 1cm tall....isnt this VERY small? 2. their are 'mouthes' on it that are like white or have some white stuff growing on them or something...is this normal? i took some pics and will try and upload them so you can see.
-thanks
-blue

 

[Salt Freak]

I think it should be enough life I only have two HO T-8 bulbs one white and blue 40 watts of light. I have sps corals and all is good for me you can try moving it. What did you do for acclimation are you usin RO water DI water or Tap.

 

[Ed4567]

What are your tank conditions (calcium, nitrate etc.)?
I really do not like the idea of dosing anything into the tank that you cannot test for- your present inhabitants are probably removing very little from the water resulting in accumulation of whatever you are dosing.
Also elegance corals have very poor survival rates in captivity at the moment:
http/www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthre...threadid=310425

Hope this helps

 

[Ed4567]

quoted from Eric Borneman's introduction: (for people who dont feel like clicking on a link)

For many years, elegance corals (Catalaphyllia jardinei) were among the easiest corals to keep in aquaria. Over the past five years, most entering the trade are doomed because of a condition for which there is no known cause or cure. In this condition, the coral adopts a relatively swollen oral disk with a fringe of unextended tentacles. The coral tissue eventually shrinks, and the coral dies despite all manner of experimental intervention.

In some cases, a white opaque mucus-like web may be present. I am not sure if this is an entirely separate condition, somehow related, secondary to the primary condition, or part of the same condition.

 

[Salt Freak]

Elegance corals have been known to do either really well or really bad. Some have been known to just disceace with no reason as to why. Best luck to you.

 

[bluefyre88]

thanks for the luck...haha....i acclimated it by first putting the bag it was in in the tank....i waited 30 minutes for water temp to become the same....then i punched a few small holes in teh bag so the water could slowly diffuse....after about another 1/2 hour i put it in the sand bed.....this new condition in elegance corals...is it bacterial? ... should i get some antibiotic?? surely something must be known about it....? please help i really dont want to see it die.

 

[Opcn]

You should take atleast 2 hours to aclimate, and not let water from the bag into your tank

 

[bluefyre88]

nice to know for next time...but suggestions for this time? also i've done at least 3 water changes since then...using tap, but i use tap water conditioner to make sure there are no bad crap in it.....i havent seen ityet this morning...maybe its doing better\ hopefully

 

[bluefyre88]

since i moved it up the rock it has opened up a little bit but the tentacles arn't coming out they're short and stubby.....this unknown condition...wouldn't it have affected it in the store......b/c it had been at that store for a month or two and it was doing quite well....i dont know but maybe...........if someone has some ideas...please help! thanks
-blue

 

[Navarre]

Corals can take many weeks or even months before stress or other ilnesses take their toll on them. THe coral might have been getting weaker in the shop then this transition pushed it too far. IMO the main cause of corals dying so soon after introduction (espcially with corals that have been looking good in other tanks for months). is poor aclimatisation. Elegence corals are not the easiest to care for and are considered as a coral for the more experienced keeper. In truth there are many corals that we simply still know too little about, Dendronepthyas are one, elegence corals are another.

Edit:
I do think the amount of additives you have used and the number of water changes recently have not given the coral the most stable of conditions and its stability that the most important thing for marines.

 

[bluefyre88]

alright i'll try that....keeping the tank as stable as possible.....hopefully in about a week or so it will acclimate better...for now thanks for the help....close this forum i'll post another in a few weeks if its necessary....thanks everyone for the help!
-blue