How to kill xenia!!!

[DidYouSayReefer]

Anyone have any luck? I have a deep 110 and I just can't rip it all out. It is overgrowing everything. I can't find Fluke tabs or I would love to nuke them. I am willing to buy a fish that will eat soft corals. I would like one that will leave my bubble tip alone, but at this point I am ready to nuke it all and start over. Any one have luck with something to at least keep it in check or have some extra fluke tabs? Please help. And no, I can't sell frags. No one local wants this weed!

 

[cjdevito]

Get some syllid worms, they eat xenia preferentially. Getting some deliberately is probably easier said than done, though. I got several as unwanted hitchhikers from liveaquaria some months ago but it's not like they offer them for sale.

 

[Larz_1]

I have a colony of pom pom xenia in my tank.
I keep it pruned back and try to keep it isolated to one rock.
When it does make the jump to another rock, I prune it off as close to the rock as possible and then cover what's left with Aiptasia-X.
It will sometimes try to sprout again in a couple of weeks ... I'll apply a second Aiptasia-X treatment and that usually does it.

Might be a lot of work to completely rid a tank of xenia, but ... if ya got no other options .... Aiptasia-X might do it.

 

[customdusty]

I had a similar probem in an old tank and scrubbed it off of the rocks with a brush, like the type you use for dishes or something. Ultimately, I ended up tearing up my aquascape to pull it out and throw it away. Like already mentioned, it's best to keep isolated on a piece of rock that doesn't touch anything else.

 

[fishslime]

I'm local, Lancaster area. I would be willing to take some off your hands. Or buy you a couple pieces of new live rock for a xenia covered one.

 

[spieszak]

I saw on a post somewhere at some point (I'll try to be less specific next time) that xenia starts to melt at 82 degrees. I haven't the slightest idea if its valid or not, but if I were in your spot, I'd sure be willing to give it a try before I started doing "real work" to get rid of it. (and in case you didn't know...caution: ramping up to a higher temp quickly will cause other problems...)

 

[landers96]

I've fought this battle for just about a year now and I've won! Pom pom xenia took off in my system about 2 years ago and my wife liked it so I let it go...big mistake! When I went sps dom I started working on the xenia. What I did was set up my qt tank and started taking rocks out, one at a time and take a pair of dykes (diagonal pliers, not women) and tried to cut the base of the xeniz, even taking a chip of the rock if possible, then when I couldn't see any more xenia put it in the qt tank with no light for about a week. Then take that clean rock, put it back in the dt and grab another rock. This has worked well for me, has taken some time, but I've beaten it back

 

[cjdevito]

I saw on a post somewhere at some point (I'll try to be less specific next time) that xenia starts to melt at 82 degrees. I haven't the slightest idea if its valid or not

It's not. I routinely maintained xenia at 82 degrees and it thrived. I've also seen it deal with temperature spikes as high as 88 with no problem.

 

[spieszak]

It's not. I routinely maintained xenia at 82 degrees and it thrived. I've also seen it deal with temperature spikes as high as 88 with no problem.

Ahh.. ok. Seemed a harmless change to try out. Thanks for confirming it doesn't help though. At least now I know not to re-post the invalid theory.

 

[sotomx]

IME I prune it every week and try to keep it under control, it´s part of my maintenance chore.

 

[bychance]

I make a thick mixture of pickling lime and RO. Suck it up in a syringe (with a needle) and stick the xenia going about 1/2 into the tissue and slowly give it a dose of the juice.

Works every time!

 

[gohstwrighter]

the easy way is just let me have it for a while i seem to kill star polips and xina every time i git it 10-12 heds of star polips and 4 clumps of xinaon my record today.

 

[gohstwrighter]

use it to trade out at a reef shop

 

[mapn4reef]

Chocolate Chip starfish will eat it, but also all other softies/nems/etc... I'm thinking of putting one in my tank, and move it between the sump and tank at times when I can watch it...

 

[captstinky]

+1 on the temp. It seems 85 degrees is the magic death for xenia. Although down here, I wouldn't mind having that 88 degree tolerant strain. I'm lazy on water changes, and xenia is my canary in the coal mine.

Plan B- take a rock out, use a small wood chisel, and chisel/scrap the base of the xenia off. If anything appears to grow back, use some kalk paste to blast it. If you have the personality, drop what you can't trade or give away into peroxide and laugh like Dr.Evil

 

[fragtrader]

...and take a pair of dykes (diagonal pliers, not women) and tried to cut the base of the xeniz

AHAHAHA. Nice 1

 

[DEC6]

Anyone have any luck? I have a deep 110 and I just can't rip it all out. It is overgrowing everything. I can't find Fluke tabs or I would love to nuke them. I am willing to buy a fish that will eat soft corals. I would like one that will leave my bubble tip alone, but at this point I am ready to nuke it all and start over. Any one have luck with something to at least keep it in check or have some extra fluke tabs? Please help. And no, I can't sell frags. No one local wants this weed!

I have built a "fence" with frogspawn which "nuked it real good". I have my Xenia nicely isolated in a corner down flow of the frogspawn which reaches way out to keep it in check.

 

[DEC6]

I've fought this battle for just about a year now and I've won! Pom pom xenia took off in my system about 2 years ago and my wife liked it so I let it go...big mistake! When I went sps dom I started working on the xenia. What I did was set up my qt tank and started taking rocks out, one at a time and take a pair of dykes (diagonal pliers, not women) and tried to cut the base of the xeniz, even taking a chip of the rock if possible, then when I couldn't see any more xenia put it in the qt tank with no light for about a week. Then take that clean rock, put it back in the dt and grab another rock. This has worked well for me, has taken some time, but I've beaten it back

You had me right up until "diagonal pliers, not women".

 

[MrBillLumberg]

would injecting boiling water into the flesh of the xenia kill it?

 

[Ringens]

I tried keeping Xenia at one time. I have a coral beauty though and that quickly became fish food.