Elegance coral tips not extending.

[RPGLaz]

Hi all this is my elegance coral. It opens every day however the tentacles don’t expand as much as they used to. Is this normal ? The second picture is how it looked when I got it.
Tank parameters.
Salinity 1.026
DKH:10.5
Cal:440
Mag:1360
NO3: 3.5
Po4: .02

 

[Utubereefer]

How the flow? Definitely doesn’t look as happy now.

 

[RPGLaz]

How the flow? Definitely doesn’t look as happy now.

I have it in what I would consider low flow. From all the research I did that’s what seems to be the what most people keep them at

 

[Utubereefer]

I have it in what I would consider low flow. From all the research I did that’s what seems to be the what most people keep them at

Do you feed it?

 

[RPGLaz]

Do you feed it?

All the time I would say at least once per week. Should I direct a little more flow to it ?

 

[Utubereefer]

What are you feeding? Do you use Red Sea ab+? Looks like it’s lacking the pop it had when you first added it

 

[vetteguy53081]

Theres more to this. Elegance has certain rerquirements and can be very hardy if those are met. Mine startes as a little smaller than baseball and is larger than soccer ball (see below)
Elegance corals require a moderately high amount of light to support photosynthesis. But that doesn’t translate to strong light. LEDs, fluorescent, or other reef-caliber lights will be sufficient. You want to aim for a PAR of about 80-120. Also important is water flow which should be moderate.
You don’t want the flow to be too hard or too soft. “Just right” means the tentacles flow gently, like leaves in a light wind. Too little and elegance corals will not thrive. Too much flow and you risk tearing the delicate polyps.
The proper flow brings nutrients to the polyps, ensuring they remain nourished. And you’ll see the typical sweeping movement as they drift in the current.
The elegance coral is photosynthetic, which means commensal photosynthetic algae called zooxanthellae that live inside its body tissue and provide nutrition by harvesting the energy in light – much like a house plant. They also benefit from regular feedings. with foods such as krill, Mysis shrimp, brine shrimp, or small pieces of fish, and shrimp.
Elegance corals ARE prone to elegance coral syndrome (ECS). If your coral has this disease, you’ll see swelling around the oral disc and unopened polyps or a white mucus coating.

 

[Utubereefer]

@OrchidMiss

 

[bruno3047]

This is from my experience only. If you don’t give the elegance something to catch with his tentacles, his tentacles will stop extending. I use newly hatched baby brine shrimp . 1/4 teaspoon for 48 hours in a cut-off 2 L soda bottle with the cone part cut off and a 10 inch 3/16” rigid tube attached to the airline. No air stone. Just bubbles from the end of the rigid tube. Target feed and watch the feast. Just ask for further instructions.

 

[RPGLaz]

What are you feeding? Do you use Red Sea ab+? Looks like it’s lacking the pop it had when you first added it

I feed it mysis shrimp only

 

[RPGLaz]

Theres more to this. Elegance has certain rerquirements and can be very hardy if those are met. Mine startes as a little smaller than baseball and is larger than soccer ball (see below)
Elegance corals require a moderately high amount of light to support photosynthesis. But that doesn’t translate to strong light. LEDs, fluorescent, or other reef-caliber lights will be sufficient. You want to aim for a PAR of about 80-120. Also important is water flow which should be moderate.
You don’t want the flow to be too hard or too soft. “Just right” means the tentacles flow gently, like leaves in a light wind. Too little and elegance corals will not thrive. Too much flow and you risk tearing the delicate polyps.
The proper flow brings nutrients to the polyps, ensuring they remain nourished. And you’ll see the typical sweeping movement as they drift in the current.
The elegance coral is photosynthetic, which means commensal photosynthetic algae called zooxanthellae that live inside its body tissue and provide nutrition by harvesting the energy in light – much like a house plant. They also benefit from regular feedings. with foods such as krill, Mysis shrimp, brine shrimp, or small pieces of fish, and shrimp.
Elegance corals ARE prone to elegance coral syndrome (ECS). If your coral has this disease, you’ll see swelling around the oral disc and unopened polyps or a white mucus coating.

I’ve been feeding it mysis shrimp and my flow is not too direct, more of a indirect gentle breeze.

 

[bruno3047]

I feed it mysis shrimp only

Newly hatched baby brine shrimp might be a little better choice. The yolk sac they are hatched with is probably more nutritious than just about anything out there.

 

[RPGLaz]

Theres more to this. Elegance has certain rerquirements and can be very hardy if those are met. Mine startes as a little smaller than baseball and is larger than soccer ball (see below)
Elegance corals require a moderately high amount of light to support photosynthesis. But that doesn’t translate to strong light. LEDs, fluorescent, or other reef-caliber lights will be sufficient. You want to aim for a PAR of about 80-120. Also important is water flow which should be moderate.
You don’t want the flow to be too hard or too soft. “Just right” means the tentacles flow gently, like leaves in a light wind. Too little and elegance corals will not thrive. Too much flow and you risk tearing the delicate polyps.
The proper flow brings nutrients to the polyps, ensuring they remain nourished. And you’ll see the typical sweeping movement as they drift in the current.
The elegance coral is photosynthetic, which means commensal photosynthetic algae called zooxanthellae that live inside its body tissue and provide nutrition by harvesting the energy in light – much like a house plant. They also benefit from regular feedings. with foods such as krill, Mysis shrimp, brine shrimp, or small pieces of fish, and shrimp.
Elegance corals ARE prone to elegance coral syndrome (ECS). If your coral has this disease, you’ll see swelling around the oral disc and unopened polyps or a white mucus coating.

Is this too little ?

 

[bruno3047]

Having the Elegance catch brine shrimp with its tentacles is also very similar to their natural habitat where their sticky tentacles are catching zooplankton. I used to always think you had to see the elegance putting food into its mouth. Not true. Any zooplankton that they catch with their sticky tentacles ends up as food. If they stop catching food with their tentacles, they lose the stickiness. And then it’s just a countdown to the end.

 

[RPGLaz]

Is this too little ?

I don’t know if the video is loading for you guys or not. It gets a bit more though out the day. But that’s about the average flow.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Is this too little ?

No, and looks good overall. feed it mysis, add amino to the water occasionally and assure Nitrate and phosphates are not elevated and water is 77-79 deg at 1.025 salinity

 

[vetteguy53081]

I don’t know if the video is loading for you guys or not. It gets a bit more though out the day. But that’s about the average flow.

being photosynthetic, they will shrink as light diminishes

 

[vetteguy53081]

Newly hatched baby brine shrimp might be a little better choice. The yolk sac they are hatched with is probably more nutritious than just about anything out there.

Likely too small for them. They need meatier but not chunky pieces of food. Their mouths are quite large when feeding.

 

[RPGLaz]

No, and looks good overall. feed it mysis, add amino to the water occasionally and assure Nitrate and phosphates are not elevated and water is 77-79 deg at 1.025 salinity

I keep my water at 78.0 deg with a salinity of 1.026 let’s home it starts to open up more.

 

[bruno3047]

Having the Elegance catch brine shrimp with its tentacles is also very similar to their natural habitat where their sticky tentacles are catching zooplankton. I used to always think you had to see the elegance putting food into its mouth. Not true. Any zooplankton that they catch with their sticky tentacles ends up as food. If they stop catching food with their tentacles, they lose the stickiness. And then it’s just a countdown to the end.

“It will benefit from additional food fed daily in the form of micro-plankton or brine shrimp”

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