Okay, I stand somewhat corrected (the title), but will give you due credit for stating that your observations are a theory, but I guess I took your posts as making claims as fact, and if not facts, then at least confusing statements, I say confusing, because I took your postings as meaning that you have found a way to bring corals back from a disease, which is actualy a theory since there are organisms within the effected corals tissue that are not known to be a benign occurance and is the only real plausable reason we have for now.
Again, and hopefully for the last time, I think its great that you have figured out how to care for an LPS, but there ARE two very distinct problems that elegance corals can face, A yet to be discovered pathogen and just plain old poor husbandry skills/knowledge. The upside to "your" good husbandy of these corals is that if by chance, one of the corals actualy has the suspected pathogen, "your" good husbandry can only be a good thing for a coral that is not feeling too well. Will it cure the coral? No, but it sure is not going to hurt it.
I would also take issue with your lady friends conclussion about the corals appearing the way they do when collected because of pressure differences, since corals are fluid filled, and fluid not be able to compress or be subjected to pressure at depth, that could not be the issue or cause, if the corals had an air chamber within them, such as most fish do (swim bladders), then sudden pressure differences would be an issue. I am positive the reaction that was noted during collection is just normal responses to being picked up, handled and dropped into differening conditions. In other words, stressed out. Which itself could play a role if a (or any animal) stressed out coral is subjected to a holding/shipping tank that is "infected". BUT...that is just guessing on my part of course, yet is what makes sense to me given what is known, and what little is known.
This is an example of what I mean by misleading -
"if I knew anything that can help people keep these corals alive I should tell them"
I could read this in two ways... You have figured out how to beat (cure?) the problem as discussed within the elegance coral project, which means I can now run out to the store and buy one... or... You have figured out how to provide the right conditions for a specimen to heal that has been abused.
Which leads to a whole other problem, how does one REALLY tell the difference between the two very distinct problems? You can't really.
That is the crux of the problem I have, I have a real issue with anyone promoting the keeping of these corals when they have such obvious issues. The reason I kind of freak out about it is simply because I know the normal population levels of this species and have to swim quite a distance to be able to find a single specimen, with the amounts being collected and being killed, it astounds me to think of how much reef in this world is now elegant coral free. Another factor is that those specimens that are collected are "juveniles", (fairly new recruits). A much older specimen can average the size of a end table or small coffee table. Not something that would be collected for the trade.
Anyways, I think I now "got it" and hopefully you do so as well...lol
Here is a bit of eye candy to smooth the feathers and hope it might be a good reference for you on what a healthy, young elegance coral should look like, while on a real reef that is....lol I'll have to remember to get a photo of a very large specimen that I know of that is in about 35 feet of water. The one shown here was in about six feet of water, if that.
Chuck