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meandean45 · 05-28-2007, 08:25 AM

Hi Darrell!

Thanks for sharing your' observations with us. Having never kept Elegance Corals, I don't feel much inclined to comment on your' theory, but do have a question or two.

The "Old" Elegance corals that were colllected from the inshore reef areas were often exposed to high nutrient/nearly murky water conditions. Wouldn't this murkiness/particulate laden water have helped to protect them from the bright light, similar to placing a diffuser over the light source?

Is it possible that the "New" Elegance corals need this Diffused light/nutrient laden water? Did you try a well lit murky water type environment in your' experiments? The Elegance that I remember seeing "Back in the Day" at my LFS were in a Bare-bottom tank, No skimmer, No sump, No filter, with 50/50 VHOs as the only light source. the only nutrient export was through a weekly 10 gallon water change (60 gallon tank). Obviously this was a very turbid, nutrient rich environment. It was also very inhospitable to other inverts (with the exceptions of a few soft corals and a couple of other LPS (candy cane/trumpet, open brain). This is the theory that my LFS (and many others) have been using to explain the sudden increase in losses of Elegance corals. Do you suppose that the lack of dissolved nutrients could be the reason that the "New" Elegance Corals Tissue is no longer strong enough to tolerate a shrimp walking on it?
I don't mean to belittle you, or your' work, and I'm genuinely pleased to see someone trying to do something about this. I know that it's much easier to be an armchair critic than to get out there and do the work as you have done!!!
Thanks for your' labors on our behalf!
Dean

05-28-2007, 08:25 AM	#6 (permalink)
meandean45 Ricordea Join Date: May 2004 Location: Bradford, Vt., USA Posts: 177 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Elegance Coral theory Hi Darrell! Thanks for sharing your' observations with us. Having never kept Elegance Corals, I don't feel much inclined to comment on your' theory, but do have a question or two. The "Old" Elegance corals that were colllected from the inshore reef areas were often exposed to high nutrient/nearly murky water conditions. Wouldn't this murkiness/particulate laden water have helped to protect them from the bright light, similar to placing a diffuser over the light source? Is it possible that the "New" Elegance corals need this Diffused light/nutrient laden water? Did you try a well lit murky water type environment in your' experiments? The Elegance that I remember seeing "Back in the Day" at my LFS were in a Bare-bottom tank, No skimmer, No sump, No filter, with 50/50 VHOs as the only light source. the only nutrient export was through a weekly 10 gallon water change (60 gallon tank). Obviously this was a very turbid, nutrient rich environment. It was also very inhospitable to other inverts (with the exceptions of a few soft corals and a couple of other LPS (candy cane/trumpet, open brain). This is the theory that my LFS (and many others) have been using to explain the sudden increase in losses of Elegance corals. Do you suppose that the lack of dissolved nutrients could be the reason that the "New" Elegance Corals Tissue is no longer strong enough to tolerate a shrimp walking on it? I don't mean to belittle you, or your' work, and I'm genuinely pleased to see someone trying to do something about this. I know that it's much easier to be an armchair critic than to get out there and do the work as you have done!!! Thanks for your' labors on our behalf! Dean __________________ Meandean45 -RELATIVITY: "Sit on a red hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit next to a pretty Girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. That's Relativity". A.Einstein : "A man's got to know his limitations."- Clint Eastwood in "Magnum Force"