How to know if the elegance is from Australia or Indonesia?

[Tropical lionfish]

Hello everyone! I often wonder is there a way of knowing the origin of elegance coral specially when the LFS seems unsure. It’s often easy for them to claim Aussie origin justifying the extra buck but more concerning for me is that I don’t want to kill another elegance and feel wretched about it. I at least want to give the coral a better chance of survival. Appreciate any pointers! [emoji4]...

 

[Daniel@R2R]

I'm not really sure on that. Maybe one of our #LPSexperts could help.

 

[andrewkw]

Visually it can be hard to tell. The price can usually give it away. The LFS should know even if they aren't importing directly the wholesaler they buy from would charge them more or less based on where it's from.

 

[Syed123]

Agreed with the above. You cannot tell visually if at all. I heard that usually the cone shaped ones are Indonesian and the meandering wall types are Australian. That maybe true or it may not. Your best bet is to go with what the LFS says.

To be frank imo it doesn't matter what type you have. Elegance corals are hit and miss. I have an Indonesian which has been going strong since I purchased it back in 2012. Sometime in 2016 I got a second Elegance, supposedly an Australian. The Australian perished in a month, with the classic symptoms of the Elegance Coral Disease. The Indo Elegance in the same system was unaffected by the Australian Elegance's demise. In fact it buds off heads all of the time and is healthy.

Elegance corals are a mystery. Some do well, others just die.

 

[Tropical lionfish]

Thanks a lot guys!! sincerely appreciate your time and willingness to share knowledge...

 

[jdemarco]

My favorite coral....i got really lucky and kept one for 2 years + when I first started reefing and when i was blissfully naive. Then I had a tank crash of sorts and lost most livestock including the elegance .....i have since tried to replace with multiple attempts and haven't been able to replicate success in keeping one despite having many more years experience reading under my belt...so perverse. They sell quickly in LFS but I pay close attention to any elegance that lands in LFS. They sell quickly which often hides the truth imo because when they are not sold right away, I will note that when they sit for a few weeks at the store and aren't snatched then I see the majority perish in the lfs.... and then there are the whole group of people who seem to keep theirs seemingly effortlessly.....i think it is specimen by specimen case.