Elegance issue.

[Fishf00d]

looking for some thoughts on this elegance. I've had it for about 3 yrs and it's about a foot across. Does this hole look like the coral is a goner. I just moved it to a larger tank that was only running a month so that's likely the problem. it was crammed in a 25 lagoon for the last 6 months since we moved and I put the bigger tank in storage until recently. just looking for a treatment option or if I can even save it. Going to move it back to the 25 lagoon in the mean time.

 

[Brian1f1]

Not ideal, but when did you move it? Any chance it’s physical trauma from the move? Is that flesh rotting around the hole or something hanging out of it? Has it been worsening gradually or did it suddenly appear?

Depending on how we think the hole started and whether or not it’s progressing you’d get different answers.

1. If it’s necrotic tissue you’ll be told to frag above it ASAP and dip it in lugols for an attempt at a partial emergency save. I think you’d have a good chance of success with it with a wet saw.

2. If it’s like a puncture wound that maybe isn’t necrotic/infected I’d probably let it ride and watch it closely, since it seems to be inflating and healthy. otherwise, refer to step one. (Note that some would have you dip it now regardless of necrosis, that’s an opinion, you’ll have to decide).

In all cases, low low low flow and low low light. Godspeed reefer.

 

[Brian1f1]

After getting a better look at the pic, I think it looks necrotic. If indeed that’s the case, go to my step one and slice and dice it yesterday. It’s still healthy, you have a chance....

B

 

[vetteguy53081]

Try adding Brightwell " RESTORE" which helps tissue heal. What are your parameters?

 

[Fishf00d]

Not ideal, but when did you move it? Any chance it’s physical trauma from the move? Is that flesh rotting around the hole or something hanging out of it? Has it been worsening gradually or did it suddenly appear?

Depending on how we think the hole started and whether or not it’s progressing you’d get different answers.

1. If it’s necrotic tissue you’ll be told to frag above it ASAP and dip it in lugols for an attempt at a partial emergency save. I think you’d have a good chance of success with it with a wet saw.

2. If it’s like a puncture wound that maybe isn’t necrotic/infected I’d probably let it ride and watch it closely, since it seems to be inflating and healthy. otherwise, refer to step one. (Note that some would have you dip it now regardless of necrosis, that’s an opinion, you’ll have to decide).

In all cases, low low low flow and low low light. Godspeed reefer.

After getting a better look at the pic, I think it looks necrotic. If indeed that’s the case, go to my step one and slice and dice it yesterday. It’s still healthy, you have a chance....

B

yea it does look like it. sad since this think was crammed in the 25 lagoon for 6 months and I did nothing but top off tha tank. Complete neglect. It's been in this tank 2 weeks now. nothing punctured it and I noticed the hole yesterday. I mean I just took some pictures ofit a few days ago. hole is no bigger today than yesterday but it does look like dead tissue.

so just set up the tile saw and have at it? I did a lugals dip as that's all I had on hand.

 

[Brian1f1]

yea it does look like it. sad since this think was crammed in the 25 lagoon for 6 months and I did nothing but top off tha tank. Complete neglect. It's been in this tank 2 weeks now. nothing punctured it and I noticed the hole yesterday. I mean I just took some pictures ofit a few days ago. hole is no bigger today than yesterday but it does look like dead tissue.

so just set up the tile saw and have at it? I did a lugals dip as that's all I had on hand.

If it’s dead tissue, that’s generally not good with these... I mean, if it truly isn’t spreading, you could wait and watch, but IDK, and yeah, if you saw, lop it off a good inch or more above it, try to go between mouths...

 

[Fishf00d]

I should have waited longer to move it. nitrates and phosphate were still high. to be honest I couldn't even tell you what the water is like from the tank it came from. Just move and the tank wasnt a priority.

 

[Brian1f1]

It’s enormous... probably worth a good bit too. IDK man, wait it out and see if it declines or roll the dice the other way and preserve what you can now. Your call.

 

[Fishf00d]

it was going to be the center piece of the a 150 cube I want to set up in the new house. That's probably a year and a half out. Need some house upgrades first. I've seen someone frag one and all pieces made it. I'll have to find that video again. I'll see how it looks after work tomorrow.

I got it 3 yrs ago for $50 from a lady who was taking down her tank. It was a quarter that size skeleton wise but still opened up big. The red is the growth in 3 yrs. yellow points to the edge of the skeleton when I got it.

 

[Brian1f1]

Nice. Check out this vid. Could be a flow issue, apparently they like it ripping.

 

[Fishf00d]

so I found the thread on reefcentral from 2008 I read years ago. the guy cut his aussie elegance with a hand saw and box cutters. made 3 frags and all survived. 1 tiny piece fell off and grew out and then 2 other small pieces came off the other frags and grew out. All frags lived.

 

[Brian1f1]

so I found the thread on reefcentral from 2008 I read years ago. the guy cut his aussie elegance with a hand saw and box cutters. made 3 frags and all survived. 1 tiny piece fell off and grew out and then 2 other small pieces came off the other frags and grew out. All frags lived.

I haven’t messed with one in probably 15 years. They Where are notoriously difficult to deal with back then, a little bit better rep now. Yes, I recommend bc I know all the big chop shops do it and sell them now. LPS polyps usually don’t recover from necrosis without cutting it off in my experience. If someone has an elegance that did recover from tissue rot like yours hopefully they chime in soon.

 

[Jon Fishman]

It looks too much like a physical tear (crab etc) to make me assume it’s tissue rot. For the overall size/health, I would continue to watch it vs cutting it up if it were me

 

[Brian1f1]

It looks too much like a physical tear (crab etc) to make me assume it’s tissue rot. For the overall size/health, I would continue to watch it vs cutting it up if it were me

That was my first guess, even a finger or rock puncture from the recent move.

 

[DEWreefing]

That is a tear not tissue rot when I had mine an acro fell on top the skin turned black and spread quick. It will be fine just don't blast it with flow and tear it more.

 

[Fishf00d]

so it continued to spread and insides were coming out. I did 2 dips of lugals this week. I decided to cut it with my wet saw today. I could not tell if there was interior tissue damage but I now have 2 frags and the main colony which opened fully within 4 hrs. seems they frag well with high rate of survival. so it has a year and a half to regrow since it will take at least that long to get the floors replaced and supported and electrical run. money thing not really a time thing.

 

[Fishf00d]

So 1 month later and i have 5 healthy Elegance corals. 1 large colony and 4 frags. Two of the frags have been slower to heal since i literally took a razor blade and cut the flesh down the middle since the skeleton wasn't connected on both sides of the mouth. I cut it wrong with the wet saw.

Those who said it was just a tear were likely right. It just kept getting bigger so i got worried.

I will say this coral is super hardy. Its been through a tank crash where all the fish died and about a dozen sps of the 45ish died and then survived being crammed in a 25 lagoon when i moved and walled off so it only had half the space it needed to fully open. Then it bouched back from a wet saw.

 

[DEWreefing]

That's great they use to be if you looked at them wrong the would die. Post pictures hahaha