Annoyed with Xenia

[clockwurk]

I have a Xenia elongata that I cant figure out.

When I first got it, it was doing very well.
Grew triple the size in 2 weeks and even spread 9 little babies right below it.

My tank parameters are good.
Calcium is 450
KH is at 11
My PH is a little low, about 8.0 but the other xenias (pom poms) and other corals are doing amazing.
No phosphates.
0 ammonia, nitrite and 5 or less nitrates
I suppliment w/ iodine...and trace elements when I do RO water changes.
I have ample lighting and the xenia elongata is situated very high and has tons of current...

BUT my xenia elongata is completely crapping out.
Its all shrivelled up

Everything in my tank is thriving, growing like mad, even my pom pom xenias....
and I cant figure out why that only my xenia elongata looks like its dying.

Please. Any help would be appreciated.

I was thinking out cutting the polyps off because I read somewhere that helps it...
But Im afraid to put it in more stress which it looks so bad.
I dont know what to do

 

[ShannHell]

what's the temp?

 

[clockwurk]

temp is at 76-77

 

[schoch79]

Maybe another coral is poisoning it with some toxins(chemical warfare). Things like leathers and/or mushrooms are known for this.

 

[sanosuke]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10556272#post10556272 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by schoch79
Maybe another coral is poisoning it with some toxins(chemical warfare). Things like leathers and/or mushrooms are known for this.

I agree with you. YOu can try running activated carbon to absorb the toxins.

 

[Nano Chris]

I would also stop dosing iodine because usually it does not need to be dosed and can not be controlled, also don't add anything you cant test for so if you are not testing for iodine than i would stop immediately either way.

 

[MalHavoc]

For the record, Xenia and anthellia (and other octocorals) were things I could never ever get to thrive in my tank. I'd get a frag from someone, it'd grow for a while, start looking good, and eventually just disappear over time. For a while I tried tons of things - more carbon, more skimming, removing corals, etc, etc, and eventually I just accepted the fact that it wasn't going to grow in my tank.

 

[shuturhole316tx]

I cant grow it either

 

[clockwurk]

Hmm..
Theres nothing close to it, except GSPs... are they toxic?

I am running carbon, and its only 2 weeks old, so I odnt think I need to replace it.

As far as the idodine, i do test and my param is cool.

Hmm.. maybe im just not meant to keep this one.
That really sucks though, it was my favorite

 

[kev apsley]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10556709#post10556709 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by clockwurk
Hmm..
Theres nothing close to it, except GSPs... are they toxic?

I am running carbon, and its only 2 weeks old, so I odnt think I need to replace it.

As far as the idodine, i do test and my param is cool.

Hmm.. maybe im just not meant to keep this one.
That really sucks though, it was my favorite

what's flow like...just an idea

 

[Tahlequah]

if you read in the softy forum section, some people are thinking that xenias may have a life span and when they reach the end they die, but if they have left any sprouts they will grow.

 

[schoch79]

GSP's can and will sting it if they are close enough. But I don't believe they produce toxins. Another thing to consider is that xenia absorb their nutrients from the water. Perhaps your water is "too clean" and their is no food for them. Some people actually will use xenia in a sump/refugium for nutrient export instead of algae because of that. On the flip side some people can't get it to grow for the life of them and others will have it take over their tank. It's hard to say really.

 

[clockwurk]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10556733#post10556733 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kev apsley
what's flow like...just an idea

The xenias are right next to my powerhead. Its a 240 GPH on a 24G tank.

The GSP is not close enough to sting, about 3-4 inches away so unless they are producing toxins, I dont think that is the problem.

As far as my water being too clean... I am thinking that too. I was told that they like phasphates but no one can give me a direct answer about it. Its more rumors and guesses than anything.

I read somewhere about the lifespan as well. It says regular prunning of the polyps can help. Sooo... I just did a little surgery. I have the pruned xenia pieces on a floating plastic w/ small holes ( to get aeration) floating directly close to the light.

Hopefully this will help the mother colony...or atleast help me grow a new colony.

 

[clockwurk]

Quick question, when I cut Xenia, does the piece im going to try and propigate have to be on a rock right away? Or can I have it free floating for a day or two to recover?

 

[kathainbowen]

I love xenia. It's one of my absolute favorite corals, despite being rather weed-like or kudzu-like in some tanks (my own included at the moment!).

However, there are so many things that just aren't understood about xenia.

For one, xenia has seasonal crashes in the wild. It's not understood why exactly, and several experiments have been done to try to sort out the root reason for these crashes. For whatever reason, xenia grows really well in the spring time, flourishing and almost growing out of control. In the summer, it starts to die off and pretty much crash. In the home aquarium, without seasonal changes, xenia can go for years and grow really well, or it can suddenly crash for seemingly no reason.

However, some tanks aren't really well suited for xenia, and no amount of effort seems to keep it in a tank where xenia just doesn't like the conditions. It seems to do better, especially Xenia elongata in tanks that are more nutrient rich (translation: a polite way of saying "in need of a water change or two"). This is particularly unique now, since people are starting to use it in refugiums for nutrient exportation, rather like chaeto and caulerpa.

As per everyone nay-saying about dosing iodine in a reef, xenia can be rather like a canary in a coal mine. I know, I know, everyone right now is saying that dosing something you can't test is bad, right? Well, in the case of xenia, NOT dosing iodine can be an issue. Xenia needs iodine, and, in tanks that are not dosed with iodine, it can crash from an almost "iodine deficiency." Smaller colonies do not see this issue, but larger colonies tend to just suck iodine and calcium. However, this is not to recommend haphazard dosing. This is to say that colonies should be carefully watched for the potential lack of iodine (ie- if your calcium, alk, salinity, and temp are fine, and if there's a little bit of nitrates to feed it, and your xenia's STILL doing bad, try a quarter to half dose of iodine to see if it perks the colony up).

Tons of current, by the way, can be bad for xenia. Try to aim for a medium flow, perhaps a slight bit stronger than the flow you would put a Euphyllia in, but not torrential. Too heavy a flow can damage the polyps or will just disturb the coral enough that it will stay closed up and not feed.

As per your fragging question, you should either allow the frags to sit in a space with low flow to allow them to attach on their own or attach them yourself right away. Otherwise, the xenia could attach places you don't want it, get swept into a space you can't get to it, or get further damaged. That, and it's just better to get it all done in one quick shot as opposed to roughing handling the coral more than you need to. Xenia's a pretty tough coral, but it can be killed.

If you do wish to allow it to freely attach, you can make a little "frag recovery basket" in your tank quite simply. You can purchase a cheap, plastic basket with slim holes, so long as the frags aren't tiny enough to slip through, of course! Depending on the set-up of your tank, you will need to either suspend the basket or attach foam to make it float. At any rate, you want the basket to be at the surface, just breaching the water's edge to keep fish from going in and getting stuck or bothering the frags. Place some small pieces of reef rubble or some sand in there, and, then, place the cut pieces in there. If you use reef rubble, just wait for the cuttings to attach themselves to that.

At any rate, if you're really interested in propagating and growing xenia one of the best, tried and true methods of growth is quiet simple. People have been almost farming xenia in this manner for ages. You take a tray of reef rubble and place in on an incline. Set a colony of xenia at the base of the tray, and voila! Done. The xenia will slowly climb up the tray, almost jumping from one piece of rubble to the next, and leaving stalks behind.

 

[clockwurk]

thank you for the info kathainbowen

 

[Lifes A Beach]

Very interesting, kathainbowen! My tank is full of xenia and was wondering the best way to prune it down and make frags for friends. You answered my questions as well. In my tank, I always add iodine. I use Lugol's and even though it states to add one drop per 20 gal. per week, I was afraid that was too much at one time. So I add a little every other day to keep it constant.

I have a tank that I've place some live rock that has already been cured waiting to place in my main tank. So I placed one of my big xenia rocks in there temporarily and it's doing great. Now, in this tank, I have great live rock and chaeto and the water is excellent! So, again, "clean" water doesn't seem to make a difference in my case. I also add iodine to this tank and I really think iodine is essential.

Not sure if lighting makes a difference. In my main tank, I have MH's and T5's and the xenia is doing great. In my live rock holding tank, I have PC's. So, not sure about those parameters either. I guess I'm one of the lucky ones that can raise xenia!

 

[sheepdog43]

Strong lighting is not a requirement for Xenia, I have seen them do quite well under PC.