Elegance coral. Catalaphyllia jardinie

 

Elegance corals can be considered one of the most suitable corals for our captive aquariums. They are loud and gaudy with big discs of bright green flesh and tentacles swaying in the breeze putting on an impressive display. They not only display well but thrive in typical home aquarium conditions.

 

 

The Gaudy appearance of elegance coral

 

Elegance corals are found in quite defined locations in the wild and are rare in other locations. Often intertidal they are more commonly found in bays, lees of headlands and channels sheltered from the full impact of storms. The boulderous shape and loose attachment to the substrate (If any) tends to make them vulnerable to tropical storms. The locations suiting them more often than not also have some degree of turbidity. Colonies found in calm bays of high turbidity grow at rates twice as those found in more open less turbid areas, they also typically exhibit larger corallites and polyp extensions.

 

Aquarium care.

Elegance coral needs are lesser than most corals in a captive reef... Though that is not to say they require poor water quality. They will not tolerate poor water quality resultant from stagnant water flow, trace element depletion or inadequate filtration in such conditions they can demise quite quickly. Some specimens will weaken over time likely suffering from a bacterial disease called brown jelly infection or polyp bail out where the animal separates from the skeleton.

 

They thrive with low levels of dissolved organics, modest nitrate <20ppm, low water flow and with particulate feeds.

 

To maintain Elegance coral specimens indefinitely they must be provided with the basic building blocks they require to grow.

• Ample lighting
• Kh 7-9 dkh
• Calcium 380-400ppm
• Moderate water flow

 

Failing to supply these basic needs is likely longer term 18 months to 2 years latter to result in the recession or bail out of the of the coral polyps.

 

Feeding.

Elegance will benefit from a meal, though it is not necessary. Simply feeding the fishes so some  food particles fall over the Elegance coral is enough. Additional direct feeds of small shrimp shell on is even better.

 

Growth rates of fed Elegance corals are much higher than those that do not receive food.

 

Propagation.

Asexual splitting of the polyps is achieved quite simply by splitting the corallites longitudinally across the polyp not through the valley.