Are elegance corals hard to keep

FlameangelLover

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Hi guys my tank just hit 1 year. Here’s a pic attached:)

It’s a 40 gal breeder and I don’t dose and I do weekly water changes. Tank is mostly softies but I think I want an elegance coral. Are they impossible to keep? I kind of like corals that are bullet proof since I don’t dose I just do weekly water changes


 
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20260123_143159_0E97A9EC-CAF3-4066-B590-794A7FD5AF36.png
 

Randy Holmes-Farley

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The problem is that some elegance, especially those that have been in reef tanks for years, are straightforward, though I would not say easy.

New imports are often near impossible to keep alive, for reasons we do not understand.

I would not buy a newly imported one.
 

dedragon

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ime not hard just have to sourcw one in good condition and mybe have cipro just in case you have to treat it once
i wouldnt get one in a tank less than like 90 unless you are willing to dedicate a portion of the tank to it. they get huge, with long powerful tentacles that will kill otger corals easily. they will also eat a lot of your snails. pretty coral tho
 
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The problem is that some elegance, especially those that have been in reef tanks for years, are straightforward, though I would not say easy.

New imports are often near impossible to keep alive, for reasons we do not understand.

I would not buy a newly imported one.
Okay the reef store by me has smaller ones for sale but I don’t know how long they have been In captivity good point I’ll ask. What min amount of years?
 

CHSUB

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I have had multiple over years…some died, some didn’t and don’t really know why?…so I would say not easy to keep. Currently have one for about 1.5 years doing well and growing beautifully. I do feed it nearly daily which is something I have just started with this new tank and it seems to help.
image.jpg
 

dvgyfresh

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if you get one stay away from indo and get an Australian import if possible. Likes flow but not direct , and I would feed daily mysis
 

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GoAskAlice

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I have a Biota cultured pink tipped elegance that's been in my tank for a couple of months and is doing quite well...in fact I want to get a purple one when they are back in stock. I added a wild collected elegance a couple of years ago that slowly withered away. Would not do that again. Problem with Biota cultured ones is that they are pricey.
 

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I have one and it is extremely healthy, IME elegances are not really difficult to keep. Similar to above, newly imported can be a bit tricker. And you need to be able to dedicate a good amount of space as they grow. You may need to look at upgrading your tank if you want to keep it as it grows larger.

It also matters where they are sourced from. I believe the ones from Indonesia are one to an infection, no one is sure why. You would be better off getting one sourced from Australia.

It is nearly impossible to get one that is aquacultured as they are very difficult to frag.
 

Randy Holmes-Farley

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Okay the reef store by me has smaller ones for sale but I don’t know how long they have been In captivity good point I’ll ask. What min amount of years?

I don't know. Over a year in a reef tank would be the minimum I'd want to see.
 
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FlameangelLover

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I have one and it is extremely healthy, IME elegances are not really difficult to keep. Similar to above, newly imported can be a bit tricker. And you need to be able to dedicate a good amount of space as they grow. You may need to look at upgrading your tank if you want to keep it as it grows larger.

It also matters where they are sourced from. I believe the ones from Indonesia are one to an infection, no one is sure why. You would be better off getting one sourced from Australia.

It is nearly impossible to get one that is aquacultured as they are very difficult to frag.
So I know for a fact it’s Australian because they told me. I don’t know how long it’s been in the tank and yes my dream tank is a 150G! Think I should pull the trigger???
 
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FlameangelLover

FlameangelLover

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I have a Biota cultured pink tipped elegance that's been in my tank for a couple of months and is doing quite well...in fact I want to get a purple one when they are back in stock. I added a wild collected elegance a couple of years ago that slowly withered away. Would not do that again. Problem with Biota cultured ones is that they are pricey.
Woahhh and pics
 

docscorals

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I have one and it is extremely healthy, IME elegances are not really difficult to keep. Similar to above, newly imported can be a bit tricker. And you need to be able to dedicate a good amount of space as they grow. You may need to look at upgrading your tank if you want to keep it as it grows larger.

It also matters where they are sourced from. I believe the ones from Indonesia are one to an infection, no one is sure why. You would be better off getting one sourced from Australia.

It is nearly impossible to get one that is aquacultured as they are very difficult to frag.
So I know for a fact it’s Australian because they told me. I don’t know how long it’s been in the tank and yes my dream tank is a 150G! Think I should pull the trigger???
I think they are great. If it is Australian, and they have had it in captivity for a while, I think it’s safe. Just be sure you know where you are going to place it to keep it away from other corals. The one I have now has grown enough I might have to rearrange as it’s getting to close to my mushrooms.

20260123_141743_E904519E-EF27-4BD0-BA5E-EDB7922B7BA4.png
 

dedragon

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zoom in and u can see the snails it killed underneath near its skeleton. banished to the corner of the tank but still too big for my old 50
 

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fandaga

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I got this from my LFS that they aquacultured for 10 years. It looks similar to what I’ve seen others post about. I also picked up the Biota “Sprung Elegance” last weekend at a coral show. It’s pretty stunning in person.
1769205839432.jpeg


Sprung elegance: (sorry for the bad photo, but yellow mouth is very dramatic)
1769206044593.jpeg
 

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