Elegance Dying HELP with Water

[chowchow10]

Hello,
My Aussie Elegance is losing its tentacles. Ive had it for about 3 months and its been doing great.

Water:
Nitrates: 40ppm
KH: 200ppm
Calcium: 440ppm
Phosphate: 0.25ppm

What am I missing?

 

[reefndude]

Looks like nitrates and phosphates are a bit high

 

[chowchow10]

my nitrates are always high. I can't get them down. Im doing a water change tomorrow, but I don't get why all of the sudden my elegance is losing its tentacles.

 

[reefndude]

I have an bta and a frogspawn that looks like it sheds tentacles every now and then. Is it losing a lot of tentacles?

 

[brandon429]

post full tank shot and pics of the coral

they come from zones where a little detritus and n and p isn't a big deal (stuck in the muck)

id be curious to know how much this voracious feeder is getting direct. just cause some DOC's are the in the water doesnt tell much about the feed he gets etc, pics w help and some feeding details too

 

[Synodontis]

I've found a lot of the time where water para's are acceptable, a Gaul crab could be the next to cross off the list of possible causes. Have you removed the Elegance & checked all around the edge of skeleton? You may find a small round hole with what looks like a "plug" inside. Very easy to miss if you don't know what your looking for. Gaul crab's will eat a Elegance from the inside out & you'll never see it until it's to late. They won't be dislodged with a coral dip either. You need to get in there with a needle & pry it out, you may also need to damage the outside of the skeleton to remove.
Not my pics below but what we found when looking for reference pics. If you ask Uncle Google, I'm sure you will find more info on them. He knows everything!

Top left edge of the coral you can see the hole with the "plug"

Gaul crab removed

The culprit, Gaul crab

 

[chowchow10]

I took a picture last night and this morning. It looks like the elegance is coming off of its skeleton

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I'd try to reduce the phosphate, but I don't think that is the primary problem causing this issue. But I'm not sure what is.

 

[brandon429]

another thing I like to see in these tank challenges is the mass building by other corals. so far from the pics i see very blue light and frags only need a larger scope.

having no growth from other stonies really matters here as well if applicable, vs having ones clearly base plating, adding mass, indicating no other tankwide challenges but only this coral is receding. id like to see how the other more established corals have laid down mass. if there is something larger at work, other frags may simply be holding their own a little longer than these heavy feeders might, if there is clear growth elsewhere in the tank that helps to see and to know.