Elegance unhappy after two changes, requesting opinions

[David M.]

Hey folks,

I have two aussie elegance in my tank right now. One was added ~2 weeks ago and has been thriving, very open and eating well when broadcast feeding the fish. The past two days however it hasn't been looking very good.

Two changes have occurred in the past few days:
1. I added a second (the one on the left) aussie elegance
2. I installed a 40w UV sterilizer


I've seen documentation surrounding ECD (Elegance Coral Disease) which seems similar to pinched mantle in clams, wondering if this is the case although I havent seen the telltale markers of it. Should I be considering any form of treatment or should I wait it out a bit. I will attach pictures below.

 

[polyppal]

Without tank parameters and tank age/etc. nobody’s going to be able to help you

 

[Shirak]

Just some thoughts. While open and eating for 2 weeks is good it isn't enough time for the coral to really adjust to your tank fully. Adding another 2 days ago is not going to impact the other except maybe by blocking or changing the water flow slightly, which may cause it to have a small and brief reaction. It is not ECD that I can see. Doing something when the coral is just doing it's normal thing can do more harm than good. Elegance will go through phases of being open and contracted.

This looks like a fairly new tank? So parameters may not be super stable which could cause some of the negative reaction on the right one. Hard to know without posting your info.

The only thing that I see that is a bit concerning is what appears to be some tissue recession on the right one. Top picture center of the coral along the line where the tissue comes down the outside of the skeleton there appears to be some ridges visible. I would inspect if the coral has lost tissue here and if it is happening elsewhere also.

 

[David M.]

Just some thoughts. While open and eating for 2 weeks is good it isn't enough time for the coral to really adjust to your tank fully. Adding another 2 days ago is not going to impact the other except maybe by blocking or changing the water flow slightly, which may cause it to have a small and brief reaction. It is not ECD that I can see. Doing something when the coral is just doing it's normal thing can do more harm than good. Elegance will go through phases of being open and contracted.

This looks like a fairly new tank? So parameters may not be super stable which could cause some of the negative reaction on the right one. Hard to know without posting your info.

The only thing that I see that is a bit concerning is what appears to be some tissue recession on the right one. Top picture center of the coral along the line where the tissue comes down the outside of the skeleton there appears to be some ridges visible. I would inspect if the coral has lost tissue here and if it is happening elsewhere also.

This was very helpful information thank you.

- The tank is fairly new, at roughly 2 months since cycle completion.
- Glad to hear you also do not think it's ECD, that second opinion is great to have.

"Doing something when the coral is just doing it's normal thing can do more harm than good. Elegance will go through phases of being open and contracted." - This was one of my main concerns, overcorrection is a killer in this hobby and as I'm fairly new to elegance corals I wasnt too familiar with what "normal" is for them.

- I agree the ridges visible is odd, that being said it has been that way since I picked it up and I've been monitoring to see if regression continues. Luckily it hasnt, and the section you mention appears to be as if the polyp attempted to "bail" prior to my purchase of it, and regrew a new skeletal base. Hard to be positive on that though, pure speculation.

I do plan to do a thorough run through of tests this morning and will post the results here.

 

[Shirak]

This was very helpful information thank you.

- The tank is fairly new, at roughly 2 months since cycle completion.
- Glad to hear you also do not think it's ECD, that second opinion is great to have.

"Doing something when the coral is just doing it's normal thing can do more harm than good. Elegance will go through phases of being open and contracted." - This was one of my main concerns, overcorrection is a killer in this hobby and as I'm fairly new to elegance corals I wasnt too familiar with what "normal" is for them.

- I agree the ridges visible is odd, that being said it has been that way since I picked it up and I've been monitoring to see if regression continues. Luckily it hasnt, and the section you mention appears to be as if the polyp attempted to "bail" prior to my purchase of it, and regrew a new skeletal base. Hard to be positive on that though, pure speculation.

I do plan to do a thorough run through of tests this morning and will post the results here.

Sounds good. They often need some recovery after dealing with importation and tank hopping etc. As long as you are keeping an eye out and tissue isn't receding further. I do find my elegance like to be fed a couple times a week. They seem to prefer some pellets or chopped mysis or something similar.

 

[LPS Bum]

I’ve kept a pair of Aussie Elegance corals for the past couple of years. They definitely go through periods where they are very inflated and periods where they are very shrunken. I’ve seen the shrunken periods last as long as a week or more.

I have mine in about 60-70 PAR on the sand bed, and in what I would describe as moderate flow. Enough to where the tentacles are swaying fairly well all the time, but not so much that the coral is being blasted. I broadcast feed zooplankton twice a week, and this all seems to work pretty well for them.

My point is that healthy Aussie Elegance corals don’t need a lot of intense light. And they’re pretty tolerant of a wide range of flow. If your water parameters are solid, give it a little time. They might just bounce back in a few days.

 

[Spare time]

Why should either of those two be related to the elegance? I doubt there is an issue from those two.

 

[ct_purley]

Hey folks,

I have two aussie elegance in my tank right now. One was added ~2 weeks ago and has been thriving, very open and eating well when broadcast feeding the fish. The past two days however it hasn't been looking very good.

Two changes have occurred in the past few days:
1. I added a second (the one on the left) aussie elegance
2. I installed a 40w UV sterilizer


I've seen documentation surrounding ECD (Elegance Coral Disease) which seems similar to pinched mantle in clams, wondering if this is the case although I havent seen the telltale markers of it. Should I be considering any form of treatment or should I wait it out a bit. I will attach pictures below.

Hi, find myself with a similar dilemma, again just like you it happened at the same time I installed a new 39w UV. I also added a regal angel at the same time, so assumed it was maybe nipping the elegance, however now wondering about the UV. Just can't see why that would happen

 

[Shirak]

Hi, find myself with a similar dilemma, again just like you it happened at the same time I installed a new 39w UV. I also added a regal angel at the same time, so assumed it was maybe nipping the elegance, however now wondering about the UV. Just can't see why that would happen

There shouldn’t be much correlation with the uv. Unless you happen to clear up a dino outbreak as some can release toxin. The other potential thing is the uv makes the water clearer which could increase light intensity. The coral could just be reacting to a bump up in light and will need some time to acclimate. Do you have any pictures? And how long have you had it?

 

[dedragon]

There shouldn’t be much correlation with the uv. Unless you happen to clear up a dino outbreak as some can release toxin. The other potential thing is the uv makes the water clearer which could increase light intensity. The coral could just be reacting to a bump up in light and will need some time to acclimate. Do you have any pictures? And how long have you had it?

Might help with a par check for you or to change an led to acclimation mode for a week. Check all parameters just in case... i have the opposite problem from u guys, my elegance coral just wont stop growing! Be careful with 2 as they will take up a lot of room in the future