Help controling Pulsing Xenia

[paulj48]

My tank is slowly being overtaken by Pulsing Xenia, approx 2/3 of my live rock is now covered with it.

How can I safetly remove some of it?

I have tried to pull it off but it wont budge, can it be cut/trimmed with a stanley blade or will this be detrimental to my tank?

Any advice is welcomed.

 

[fakename]

Sometimes you can peel it off of rock, although it sounds like you have been unsuccessful at that. You can also cut it off at the base, and mount it on small peices of live rock. Sometimes LFS's will accept this pretty weed in trade or for credit, or you could frag swap with other reefers.
If you do cut it off at the base it may grow back from the tissue remenant left behind!
Aaron

 

[mystikdragon7]

If you tank is infested that bad, I would think the best way to get rid of it is to take the rocks out and scrub them in a bucket with a brush and get as much xenia off of the rock as you can.

 

[Fast Fred]

My Copper-Banded Butterfly ate all mine!

 

[Blown 346]

Once Xenia decides to take residence on rock work, the only real way to get rid of it or kill it so it wont grow back, is to takea scissors and cutas close the to base of it as possible.
Grab the portion you cut off and place it in low flow on or around other rock, or rubble in low flow and sell it once it attaches.
The left over stalk will grow back into a new one. The only way to stop its growth is to scrub the rock.

 

[ItsMee]

FWIW I recently read (although I dont know if its true-hopefully someone will confirm) that if you run carbon 24/7 xenia doesnt like it and melts away. I was wondering why mine started melting and when I read that, I realized that it started to melt about 5 days after putting carbon i my sump.

 

[fareforce]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6505496#post6505496 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ItsMee
FWIW I recently read (although I dont know if its true-hopefully someone will confirm) that if you run carbon 24/7 xenia doesnt like it and melts away. I was wondering why mine started melting and when I read that, I realized that it started to melt about 5 days after putting carbon i my sump.

If this is true it probablly has something to do with the fact carbon leaches out phosphates.. Only thing I can think of.. Hence why I run a carbon subsitute

 

[ItsMee]

well xenia actually benefits from some phosphate in the same way that macro algae does. I read that the carbon takes out all of the trace elements that the xenia uses to survive....I read it in a DRSFosterandSmith mag, now that I think of it.

 

[Mndrsn2000]

I cant wait until I have this problem with Xenia!! Luckyyyyy

 

[sundance1]

I removed mine because I was afraid they would take over my tank.They sure are neat,but not worth the trouble.

 

[jap1]

I bet you could sell a ton of it to your LFS.

 

[Hal]

I've noticed that my xenia tends to climb upward on the rock, towards the light. I've wondered if I put a small piece of rubble rock just above the Xenia if it will climb onto the rubble rock, and then I can remove the rock and the entire coral, without worry about leaving pieces behind to regenerate.

Has anyone tried this?

 

[Ploppers]

Is it possible to keep xenia in one place? Would it work to put it on its own little island away from the main rockwork or would it eventually spread anyway? I love the look of xenia, but if it's going to be that much trouble I'll stay away.

 

[concon]

I used joes juice on acouple of stalks that started to stray. It worked great!