Australian Elegance Coral

How to Care for Australian Elegance Coral

written by Dave Burr

The Elegance Coral will sway back and forth beautifully in the currents and makes a great showpiece for any reef aquarium. This coral exhibits brilliant fluorescent colors under actinic lighting.

Placement: Mount the Elegance Corals using IC gel glue, or putty, on an exposed rock or low in the aquarium where they will receive low to moderate currents and moderate lighting. They also do very well when placed directly on the sand bed provided Gobies and inverts don't bury them with sand. They can sting other corals so leave 3-4" of space around them.

Feeding: Although symbiotic algae called zooxanthellae hosted within them supply some of their nutritional requirements through photosynthesis they do benefit from supplemental feedings once or twice per week. Offer Oyster-Feast and mysis shrimp 2 - 3 times per week.

Lighting & Flow Requirements: The Elegance Coral requires low to moderate water flow and moderate lighting (PAR 150-250). T5's, Metal Halides, or LED's can all grow Elegance Corals when the proper PAR levels are provided. We recommend a 14-20K color spectrum for best coloration.

Care Level: Moderate
Lighting Requirements: Moderate (PAR 150-250)
Water Flow: Low to moderate
Aggressiveness: Aggressive
Range: Australia
Family: Caryophyllidae
Water Conditions: 75-80° F; sg 1.024-1.026 (1.025 is ideal); pH 8.1-8.4 Ca 420-440 ppm, Alk 8-9.5 dKH, Mg 1260-1350, Nitrates <10ppm, Phosphates, < .10ppm

Water Chemistry: It is important that proper calcium (420-440 ppm), alkalinity (8-9.5 dkh - run it 7-8 if you are carbon dosing) , and magnesium levels (1260-1350 ppm) are maintained. Raising magnesium levels gradually up to 1400-1600 ppm can help to combat algae outbreaks, just keep CA and Alk in line as you raise the Mg. Nitrates should be below 10 ppm and phosphates should be below .10 ppm. We recommend doing a water change when Nitrate levels rise to 10 ppm. It is important to replace your phosphate media when phosphates rise to .10 ppm. Media Reactors make the most efficient use of your phosphate media by fluidizing it.

Dosing: Vivid Aquariums uses and recommends dosing pumps to automate the dosing of additives and keep your levels more constant. A dosing pump can alleviate the chore of manually dosing your aquarium with Ca, Alk, & Mg 2,3, or 4 times per week and will benefit your aquarium by keeping your levels constant through frequent small additions of Ca, Alk, & Mg. Our tanks all progressed when we switched from 3 manual dosings per week to 70 automatic dosings per week and we got a lot more work done.