Elegance Coral step by step help

[forestsofkelp]

I need some help with my Elegance Coral treatment plan. I really want to save this guy.
Parameters: SG 1.0265 but was 1.0267 for the last 2 weeks. P 0.01-0.06, N 0, Ca 425,Mg 1350-1450.

Ive had an elegance coral that was doing great for a year. No sign of disease. Then it slowly shriveled up. It hasn't fully extended for about a 6-8 months. My indophyllyia and trachyphyllia did about the same.

I tried moving them around, low flow, high flow, less light, more light for a few months. No luck. One indo died. The other lived in a very low flow spot (where the other was doing poorly), lifted off the sand bed and with feeds. The trachy still wont extend, at all. It's basically colored skeleton.

The elegance has made no progress. I have dipped it, lifted it, put it in a low flow spot, fed it..nothing.

At this point it's in my darkest, lowest flow spot and showing slightly more polyp extension. I plan to keep feeding it. If that doesnt work , I may dip it again. i did consider if something was nipping it; my next step is also to turn my refuguium into a dedicated elegance coral tank but then I wont be able to keep as close an eye on it.

Does this sound like a good plan? I dont know what else to do...next option would be to take it to the shop to let it recover. Im kind of at a loss here.

 

[LPS Bum]

I’ve kept my dinner plate sized Elegance corals (2 of them) for about 8 years now, and it hasn’t always been smooth sailing.

When they have shriveled up for more than a couple of days, I give them an aggressive iodine dip in Seachem Reef Dip. By aggressive I mean it’s a heavy concentration of iodine (very dark mixture) for 20 min. Then a rinse in clean saltwater and back into the tank. I have also given them 5 min dips in pH adjusted RODI freshwater, and that has worked too (similar to what you’d do for Tridacna clams, but a much shorter duration).

I believe they actually need more flow than most people think, so you might want to think about giving them enough random flow to make their tentacles dance arounda good bit. I keep mine in the corners of my reef tank, and they like it there. Twice weekly feedings of zooplankton and copepods help too.

As you mentioned, keep an eye out for nipping. My yellow pyramid butterfly was nipping at one of them, but I moved the coral to a new spot and that has stopped. Nipping will definitely cause an Elegance to shrivel up and stay closed.

 

[forestsofkelp]

Thank you. I’ll try one big iodine dip and then freshwater dips if that doesn’t work

 

[Science/G]

Feed it and raise your Nitrates. They are historically difficult to keep.

 

[mboley]

What's with your Nitrates? 0 is not good. Phosphates are also a little low for an Elegance.

 

[forestsofkelp]

Unfortunately it passed, even with feeding
I usually keep my P at 0.04-0.08 and my N is always 0, even with regular feedings. I assume there is N, its just taken up.

All my other LPS are happy and growing...torches, gonipora, hammers, etc.

I'll try to get the N up though