Can't keep Xenia or Zoas??

karimwassef

karimwassef

Active member
Help. My tank is 7 months old. I cannot keep certain soft corals! Why?

I can keep SPS and LPS. I can sort of keep green star polyps, large rock polyp, rhodactis, and some mushrooms. But Xenia and Zoas die !!

What is going on here?

Here's when I first got the frags:
<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/Mobile%20Uploads/83A9F227-D927-4214-A352-24415EC1EBB6_zpszgfrh13l.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/Mobile%20Uploads/83A9F227-D927-4214-A352-24415EC1EBB6_zpszgfrh13l.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 83A9F227-D927-4214-A352-24415EC1EBB6_zpszgfrh13l.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/Mobile%20Uploads/4B7FF528-887D-43B9-9955-1CD4B638BD2A_zps4pinnx0o.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/Mobile%20Uploads/4B7FF528-887D-43B9-9955-1CD4B638BD2A_zps4pinnx0o.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 4B7FF528-887D-43B9-9955-1CD4B638BD2A_zps4pinnx0o.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/Mobile%20Uploads/023895DF-5C05-4F35-A144-107DA306A572_zpscaf8vhx9.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/Mobile%20Uploads/023895DF-5C05-4F35-A144-107DA306A572_zpscaf8vhx9.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 023895DF-5C05-4F35-A144-107DA306A572_zpscaf8vhx9.jpg"/></a>

Now, the pink Xenia disappeared completely (no trace left on the rock). The rest look like this:
<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/96CD4CBE-8B1D-4C5C-868C-92B4C5C07CCA_zpskvwmdmea.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/96CD4CBE-8B1D-4C5C-868C-92B4C5C07CCA_zpskvwmdmea.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 96CD4CBE-8B1D-4C5C-868C-92B4C5C07CCA_zpskvwmdmea.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/7E6089F6-9D96-422F-813C-D8C400B3DD6B_zpsnx23b0bw.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/7E6089F6-9D96-422F-813C-D8C400B3DD6B_zpsnx23b0bw.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 7E6089F6-9D96-422F-813C-D8C400B3DD6B_zpsnx23b0bw.jpg"/></a>

And are dying fast.
 
Conditions:
Temp 76F
salinity 27
pH 8.4
Alk 11
Cal 400
Mg 1460
PO4 ~zero
NO3 ~zero
NH4 zero
NO2 zero

Lighting 400W MH 10K x 3 + 400W LED X 1
 
Following - I can keep Zoas but not Xenia.
I have a frag tank downstairs they Xenia thrive in - when I bring a frag upstairs, it just melts away.
Same salt, pretty much same params, temp, etc..
 
I can't keep Kenya or clove polyps either. some corals like water a little dirty. like you I have no nitrates. my leathers and lps are doing great.
 
i have 180 and can keep anything. Keys to my success: Plenty of Light, On timers of course. Frequent enough water changes (once a month 3-4 weeks). Quality Salt (red sea pro). Thats all i do and everything is growing and happy for years.
 
+1 on the super clean tank. Please note that Xenia and Zoas are filter feeders and as such need some nutrients in the water. Also your mag may be to high for them, but I think it is the first.

But hey, that is not exactly a bad thing. You can grow SPS and LPA corals. Why would you want Xenias in there? LOL I know, I know. You like how they look with their little hands moving.

Good luck!
 
I really wanted zoas since they should grow fast and cover the large empty rockwork.

I want small frags of bright fast growing coral to grow like weeds - zoas and Xenia should have worked.
 
You can try Green Star Polyps. They like clean water and they grow fast. You don't have to target feed them either. They only need some trace elements.
 
I have green star polyps and they're doing great! But zoas are faster, I think.

So... The consensus is that my water is too clean. Ok
 
I'd agree with the statements above as well. Your water is likely too clean. I had pulsing xenia in my tank once. While the tank had some algae issues the xenia was thriving. Shortly after solving the nutrient problem and resolving the algae issue my entire rock full of xenia would melt away until there was nothing left. From my experience this was either related to the solving of my algae issue or the addition of cespitularia which would have started taking much of the nutrients out of the water leaving less for the other coral. Long story short, lack of nutrients in the water.
 
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