Rare Black Elegance

BC1906 · Jul 31, 2017

If it was an Aussie Elegance I could see it but Indos just have a horrible survival rate. I would not risk it but it is beautiful

tdileo · Jul 31, 2017

Servillius said:
Kill the blue LEDs.

They're under actinics in these photos

BlennyKravitz · Jul 31, 2017

tdileo said:
It is from Indonesia but has been doing great in his frag tank. Currently about 8 inches extended. Saw it in person today and it is breathtaking!

Oh man. I'm excited for your enthusiasm about the hobby, but I really think you should reconsider investing that much into an indo elegance. The aussies are much more resilient.

Indo elegance seem to be extremely intolerant of brown jelly and bacterial infections. I'm not a veteran or anything, but I do know how hard it is to get a beautiful coral out of your mind. But I would really walk away from that thing if you aren't experienced with these. Take that $500 and get three other exotic coral.

kilgoretrout · Jul 31, 2017

It's a beautiful coral, however, the price seems a bit steep. Even if you can afford it and want it, the cost doesn't seem correct.

That being said, I have owned many elegance that have gotten so big that I've had to sell them. They generally outgrow my tank very quickly. I'm the opposite of what most say- I'd ask people that actually own them or have had them to get an idea of their hardiness. Like most corals in this hobby, they can be a bit tricky but with proper care they do very well. That is my opinion but I've owned many. I feed my tank very often and with very large amounts so it ate a ton.

bigdan3489 · Jul 31, 2017

An elegance was actually my first coral and it has been real hardy for me considering all of my newbie mistakes. I have surprising kept it alive now for a year and a half. I would love to have this black one!

tdileo · Jul 31, 2017

ksfulk said:
Something else to think about is if the elegance would be a good fit for your tank - regardless of the price. Many fleshy LPS corals like elegance or wellsos will not appreciate the high flow that most SPS tanks have. The high flow can cause the flesh to not fully extend and the coral can be battered to the point where it wastes away. While they can adapt, elegance are also notorious for not surviving well in the home aquaria, particularly if they are indo variants.

I had a nice low flow area out on my sandbed. I've been wanting an elegance since before I started my tank so when I designed it I made sure I had rocks to slow the flow where it would go

tdileo · Jul 31, 2017

samnaz said:
Wait a Sec.. you've never had any LPS? How's that even possible?

No clue lol, I kinda skipped them and went straight to SPS. Almost bought a small colony of rainbow acans yesterday or a black and white torch, but I went with a bunch of zoas and rics

gurumasta · Jul 31, 2017

Definitely ask to see it under whiter lighting. I ask to see any coral before I buy it my LFS to turn up the whites. You can watch insane purple and neon greens turn brown in front of your eyes. If it is an Indo Elegance I would def not invest that much money. Aussie Elegance have a much better survival rate especially if you have never tested any LPS in your current system.

I vote no to the elegance. Put that money elsewhere. Buy yourself a nice Aussie wall hammer or something to move in the flow for that open spot in the sand bed for 1/10 of the cost.

But that's just like.. my opinion man....

tdileo · Jul 31, 2017

gurumasta said:
Definitely ask to see it under whiter lighting. I ask to see any coral before I buy it my LFS to turn up the whites. You can watch insane purple and neon greens turn brown in front of your eyes. If it is an Indo Elegance I would def not invest that much money. Aussie Elegance have a much better survival rate especially if you have never tested any LPS in your current system.

I vote no to the elegance. Put that money elsewhere. Buy yourself a nice Aussie wall hammer or something to move in the flow for that open spot in the sand bed for 1/10 of the cost.

But that's just like.. my opinion man....

I know its "just your opinion" but I appreciate it! I did decide against it and with some of the money I bought a rock covered in ricordeas and honestly it was stupid of me. Mushrooms always do terrible in my tank so I should have just bought 1 first and now they are all looking funky. Moved them into even lower lighting and hoping they start to look better soon

hcker99 · Jul 31, 2017

tdileo said:
I know its "just your opinion" but I appreciate it! I did decide against it and with some of the money I bought a rock covered in ricordeas and honestly it was stupid of me. Mushrooms always do terrible in my tank so I should have just bought 1 first and now they are all looking funky. Moved them into even lower lighting and hoping they start to look better soon

Remember those rics need really low light so pretty much right on the sand bed for those

Kmsutows · Jul 31, 2017

You've made a post about how to frag this elegance claiming it's out grown your tank??? Its not even in your tank
... man.. this extremely delicate region elegance and you're planning on cutting it up and think it's going to live? Come on man.

MUSBFRANK · Jul 31, 2017

I've seen a lot of elegance that look like that, no green pigment in the body which leaves it brown with bright tips, I still see corals in lfs that have been color treated, I would absolutely pass on this elegance, especially when pics are in blue lighting.

tdileo · Jul 31, 2017

Kmsutows said:
You've made a post about how to frag this elegance claiming it's out grown your tank??? Its not even in your tank
... man.. this extremely delicate region elegance and you're planning on cutting it up and think it's going to live? Come on man.

Sorry, I know I should have been more honest. I was just looking for an answer and twisted my situation a bit. I really love this coral and was honestly thinking about getting it and figured I would like to learn if you can frag it before it started to get too big for the spot it would be in after a year or so. I just didn't think I would get any replies if I said it was a maybe so I acted like it needed to be done soon

tdileo · Jul 31, 2017

MUSBFRANK said:
I've seen a lot of elegance that look like that, no green pigment in the body which leaves it brown with bright tips, I still see corals in lfs that have been color treated, I would absolutely pass on this elegance, especially when pics are in blue lighting.

Just curious, what is color treated? Like, dyed? I've heard of that with fish but not corals!

MUSBFRANK · Aug 1, 2017

tdileo said:
Just curious, what is color treated? Like, dyed? I've heard of that with fish but not corals!

Yes, like dyed, they've been doing that for years now (well over a decade), I remember going to the wholesaler and my jaw dropped when I saw these BRIGHT YELLOW flower pots, HOT PINK leathers and finger leathers, I thought I hit pay dirt but when I inquired about them, they had been dyed which of course slowly washes out, anemones too. Once people realized the color just disappears and leaves you with a pale unattractive looking coral, not many wholesalers brought them in anymore, also the buying public found out and sales all but disappeared. But the pictured black elegance in this thread, I see these all the time, just brown instead of black with the usual bright tips, and the lights are making it look deceptively dark.

lefkonj · Aug 1, 2017

Funny expecting mine to show up today, will have to see how it does. I have heard they like high flow, but then again I haven't had luck in the past with these.

tdileo · Aug 1, 2017

lefkonj said:
Funny expecting mine to show up today, will have to see how it does. I have heard they like high flow, but then again I haven't had luck in the past with these.

I heard they like medium-low flow. Good luck with it. I still really want one but know in a year or so it would probably outgrow the 10x6 inch area on my sandbed for it