Elegant Coral

[salty27]

Hey folks,
I just received a small (2 inch) Elegant Coral from LiveAquaria, which I've been wanting one as the final "centerpiece" for my reef system. I've been reading and hearing conflicting suggestions on where to place this beauty, and wanted to see what you experts had to say!

Should it be in strong light, or more on the sand? In the path of medium water movement, or more in a calm spot?

I have a 150 watt metal halide in my 45 gallon hex. Right now, the coral is about in the middle of the tank in a low water flow location. I just acclimated and put it in last night, and haven't been home yet to see how it has reacted to it's current location.

 

[melosu58]

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=461

LA says low to moderate flow and moderate lighting. Here is another link.

http://www.fantasyreef.com/database/index.php?p=getitem&db_id=5&item_id=47

 

[tecwzrd]

And yet another one:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/elegance.htm

 

[salty27]

Thanks for the articles! Wow, that last one from tecwzrd was an eye opener. I'll be sure to take the authors advice and move the piece down more towards the sand. Hopefully, it will stay healthy and happy in my system and live a long life!

And the article did make sense: I've seen these corals in my LFS, but always found them not to be 100% healthy looking. Not until now did I realize they were in a high water movement areas (which made me believe that was what they needed).

Thanks again!

 

[Ziggy953]

Salty....get us some pics!! I love that coral...haven't decided whether or not to get one but I sure do love seeing them!!!

 

[lando]

This is coral that does not withstand the collection and transport method very well. If you are lucky enough to get a healthy animal, place it in low flow with the cone burrowed in the substrate. It may need an occasional "dusting" to remove sand from the tissue. Irritation of the tissues can lead to infection and a very rapid demise of the animal. They also seem very prone to brown jelley infections so keep an eye out. I kept one for over three years until a nasty tank mishap that it could not recover from.

 

[salty27]

Well, I move my Elegant down in the tank a bit, but not into the sand. I have a hexagon tank that's tall and thin, so I'm hoping this is low enough (the equivalent depth of a rectangular tank). I found a spot inside a piece of live rock shaped like a "U" that I put it in between. It's not wedged or forced, but it holds up fine. This spot is also low in water movement, and it seems to be clear of rocks to scrape it's flesh against.

I tried taking some pics, but unfortunately my camera isn't high-performance (the last pic is my favorite!):

 

[melosu58]

Very nice salty. It looks very happy.

 

[lando]

I looks good, although I would still consider moving it to the substrate.