elagance coral?

hi,i got a very nice elegance coral about 10 days ago.this morning it still was ok,full,nice and open,just as it has been.then this afternoon it was getting smaller,now looks even worse?
water parameters 10 days ago were---
sg=1.026
temp=78
po4=0.25
amo=0
ph=7.9
nitrate=0
nitite=0.1
calcium=450
water parameters today"as its dying"are all the same.
sooo?just bad luck?any ideas?
expensive coral for 10 days,,lol,,sort of.

before and now pics attached.

 

I don't think it looks like it's dying, it looks like it's closing up.....have you fed it? is a fish possibly picking at it? LPS corals will close and open periodically - mine tend to close up in the evening (not an elegance but other LPS) when lights are off and then open back up when lights on are on.

 

What else do you have in the tank? Does everything else look ok? What is your lighting situation? From my inexperienced eye, it does not look to be unhealthy per se, just closed up. It may be adjusting. Other thoughts would be good to hear.

 

Get your pH up. your alkalinity may also be low. That alone would cause this coral to close up. However it still looks healthy and it may just be adjusting.

 

ok,ty,ill do that.looked at it just now and it looks to be getting fuller again, i spot fed it a bit,,see how it looks later today, thanks

 

How old is your tank? Just curious since you have nitrite in the tank.

 

over a year,,,0.1 isnt too bad?

 

Did you spray the food at the coral with a turkey baster or something like that?

Elegance corals typically don't feed on tiny particles. Like the size of brine shrimp or smaller. They feed on more substantial meals. Like small fish or shrimp.

When you try to feed a healthy elegance, you're going to get one of two responses. If the whole coral, or most of it, withdraws fairly quickly, you're not getting a feeding response. It's a defensive response. Even if food does stick to the tentacles in such a situation, it's likely to be released later when the coral opens back up. Many people see the coral grab food and close up, and think the coral is feeding, but it isn't.

If there's to much contact, or an abrupt increase in water flow, especially with large amounts of particulate matter in it, the coral is likely to go into defensive mode and close up. You want to avoid this the best you can.

When an elegance feeds, the only parts of the coral that move are the ones involved in the feeding. The rest of the coral remains open.

Try this. Cut off a piecemeal raw shrimp about the size of a pencil eraser and very slowly, and gently, wiggle it in the tentacles of the coral. You're trying to mimic the movements of a small struggling fish without making it seem like the coral is under attack. This will bring more tentacles in to hold the food, and create a stronger feeding response.

You should see the coral begin to move the food closer to one of the mouths. Then the mouth will begin to swell, and move closer to the food, as the coral slowly places the food inside. If you do not see the food enter the mouth, you have to assume the coral has not fed.

As the coral builds its strength and recovers from shipping stress, it will become much much easier to feed.

 

hi,i fed it about 5 days after i got it with a small piece of shrimp,just as u described,i saw the shrimp dissapear.it is still alive,but closed. i moved it to another area ,tentacles barely move.i noticed that a cleaner wrasse i have was nipping at it,i put a small strainer screen over it, see what happens?my water parameters remain the same as mentioned before,all my other corals ,pallys ,zoos/kenyas,ect all fine.here are some recent pics.
ty for the advice,hope it opens?

 

I can see skeleton. I hope it lives, but I'm not very hopeful. I'm not saying it can't recover, though. Shading it from light and flow and irritation, like you did, was a smart move.

Many elegance corals are doomed from the start, especially Indonesian ones. I had an Indonesian one that literally dissolved in the space of two weeks.

Here's a good article about the condition.
Elegance Corals: Sustainability and Disease Impacting Catalaphyllia jardinei (Wells 1971) in the Aquarium Trade by Eric Borneman - Reefkeeping.com

On a happier note, I love your yellow leather. Very vibrant!