whats happening to elegance coral

[mattgeezer]

can any one help my coral has like melted??
at touch it starts to fall apart(like a milky consistincy)
everything else in my tank seems to be okay
i have a fire goby and clown fish in there (135l) tank

the levels (nitrate ammonia ) are giving me nil readings what should i do

[Diver_1298]

If its melting, unfortunately it is time to take it out. It is probably dying and will pollute your tank. Ammonia and nitrite levels will spike causing undo duress to your fish and other inhabitants.

Jim

[coral reefer]

Unfortunately, Elegance corals aren't as hardy as Hammers, Torch or frogspawn. You may have a light problem or water problem-possible toxic reaction to neighboring corals a possibility.
Are you dosing with iodine? Iodine is very beneficial to corals as well as inverts!

[Tangster]

The elegances over the last 10 yrs are from deeper water and very sensitive to any touching of the flesh and shipping is very hard on them.. if you where familiar with the old type then the base would be a dead give away now they look like ribbons Seems its very difficult to keep them. I myself lost one in shipping and everyone that was sent into the shop also was about DOA. Not a hardy coral as they used to be. But if you keep trying you may bet one to adjust to tank life. I'd suggest that before handling one to wear non powered latex gloves.. to give yourself a better chance and make sure the LFS person shadows it with their hand to make it close up as much as it can then make sure they touch just the skeleton of it. Better yet I'd just pass on one ..Save your money and effort.

[mattgeezer]

thankyou very much guys you are all right !!!!

[OoNickoC]

This is something that has pagued the hobby for the last decade....trying to think back i believe they require more phoisphates in an aquarium. On top of that they are quite delicate to shipping and light changes...the foremost is hte deciding factor ime. I tried dosing phosphate laden tap water and saw dramtic improvements in my elegance.

[rayjay]

Originally Posted by coral reefer

Are you dosing with iodine? Iodine is very beneficial to corals as well as inverts!

This is Randy's take on dosing Iodine, which he no longer does.

Originally Posted by Randy Holmes-Farley

I do not think that iodine is a useful additive for most reef aquaria. I have not added any for years. This article has more:

Iodine in Marine Aquaria: Part I

Iodine in the Marine Aquaria
and

Iodine in Reef Tanks 2:
Effects on Macroalgae Growth

__________________
Randy Holmes-Farley
Want to talk chemistry? Try the Reef Chemistry Forum at Reef Central

[rayjay]

I forgot to mention also, that Randy has been doing extensive investigations into the problems with the elegance type coral and the last I read was that there was no definitive reason found for the poor survivorship of that coral and I don't believe that any recommendations are out yet for increasing the life of those already in hobbyists hands.

[mattgeezer]

ive actually saved one polyp of my elegance hopefully i can keep it alive