Elegance Coral

The elegance coral is a showy LPS that resembles an anemone with its long, thick tentacles. The colony consists of V-shaped, meandering valleys; in the middle of the valleys are green, striped oral discs, surrounded by green tentacles usually tipped with pink or purple. The tentacles can stay open day and night, and when the colony is open it reaches several times the size of its skeleton.

For a long time it was placed in the family Euphylliidae; in current classification it belongs to Merulinidae. Since the 2000s, a decline of not fully known cause, called "elegance coral syndrome," has been common, especially in wild-collected colonies; this is why it is considered difficult. Its trade is subject to CITES Appendix II. Aquacultured or maricultured colonies are generally hardier, so choose those.

• Pink-tipped elegance: Green tentacles with pink or purple tips; the most classic look.
• Green elegance: Single-colored forms whose tips are also green.

It lives in the Indo-West Pacific in sheltered, turbid waters on soft sandy or muddy bottoms; it is rare in the western Indian Ocean. In the wild the conical base of the skeleton is buried in sand or mud and only the upper part is exposed.

• Light: Moderate, about 75–150 PAR. In strong light the tentacles shorten.
• Flow: Low and indirect. The long tentacles should sway gently; strong flow tears them.
• Placement: On the sand, with its conical base slightly buried. If it is wedged into the rockwork, its base gets damaged.
• Water parameters: Salinity 1.024–1.026, KH 7–10 dKH, calcium 400–450 mg/L, magnesium 1250–1350 mg/L. Sensitive to stability. It does not like very clean water; nitrate 5–10 mg/L and phosphate 0.05–0.1 mg/L are suitable.

It is photosynthetic, but benefits from regular supplemental feeding. Once or twice a week, place mysis, chopped shrimp or fish flesh near the tentacles; the tentacles carry the food to the mouth. Give small pieces rather than large chunks.

It is one of the most aggressive LPS. Its long tentacles have a powerful sting and can extend even further at night; it quickly kills any coral it touches. Leave at least 15–20 cm of space in every direction; keep other free-living corals on the sand away as well.

Clownfish often host in the elegance coral; constant contact can wear the colony down. Dwarf angelfish, butterflyfish and hermit crabs may pick at the tentacles.

Healthy colonies can be propagated by cutting between the valleys with a diamond-blade saw. In the aquarium, satellite colonies sometimes form next to the mother colony. Cutting is a stressful procedure and should only be done on colonies that have been doing well for a long time.

• Elegance coral syndrome: The oral disc swells, the mouth stays open, the tentacles shorten and the colony can die within a few weeks. No definite cure is known; buying an aquacultured colony and quarantine are the best protection.
• Torn tentacles: Strong flow or contact with hermit crabs.
• Brown jelly: Can start in injured tissue; early intervention is needed.