New Pom Pom Xenias not "pumping"...they look good though

[chrisbenavides]

I just bought 7 little polyps of Pom Pom Xenia. They have been in my tank since Saturday night (today is Monday morning). I noticed that they are not pumping. They are only opened wide. They look healthy, and not all deflated like sick xenias. Why are they not pumping? I placed them orginally clower to the light, but there might have beenmore water movement there, so I placed them further at the bottom where there is moderate flow. Do they need low flow in order to pump or can they still pump in moderate flow?

Any ideas as to what I should do?

 

[Chads29]

do you have any information on your tank, salinity and other information that may be helpful?

 

[chrisbenavides]

will surly post this tomorrow

Everything should be fine though, as I last checked. All other corals are doing great, including the Toadstool I mentioned in the othet thread. So, I don't know if its a water chemistry issue, but a placement issue.

I just checked the Pom Poms, and they are fully opened, not deflated, but not pumping. I placed them close to skimmer return, so it can get some nutrients that the skimmer may "let go".

 

[Galilean]

I have found that pulsing xenias stop pulsing when iodine gets too low. I use Lugul solution. If I don't add any for long enough they stop pumping, but I don't really know the details of the connection. Adding iodine again sometimes returns them to pulsing, but sometimes they never begin again. They may go on doing well, reproducing indefinitely without any more pulsing.

 

[chrisbenavides]

That sucks if my Xenias don't pump ever again. They were pumping at the LFS store 3 hours prior to placing them in my tank.

I will go and buy a little vial of Iodine today and add it. Do Xenias die with low Iodine level? I thought that it was bad to add Iodine, and tat my simply feeding Mysis and Krill into the tank, Iodine was being added at a better rate. Is this true?

 

[Phyto]

I find that my Pom Poms respond to water flow in regards to pumping. Try adjusting that and give them time to adjust accordingly. If they have only been in the tank for a few days, they may still be acclimating. I wouldn't go buy a vial of iodine and dump it in just to find out if your Xenia will pump. I'm not trying to sound like a parent, just be careful with that stuff. Do some resaearch on IODIDE.
I notice that MY Xenia pump moderately under little to no flow at all. With a light flow (like a gentle breeze), they pump the fastest. Obviously if you are blasting your Xenia sideways with an MJ1200, they wont pump. Try and find them a cozy place and leave them. It won't be long untill you are giving it away on a regular basis. Oh ya, I would keep it away from any prize pieces of live rock. You will have a heck of a time keeping it from spreading onto other corals.

 

[jbittner]

I have noticed a connection between ph and pulsing. Low ph no pulse---high ph fast pulse.

 

[chrisbenavides]

Let me check my pH and I'll let you know.

Well, I found a high spot in the tank. I don't there is a lot of flow there. So I guess I'll give it a few more days to acclimate. My SG is 1.025. 0 Ammonia. Need to check pH.

Do Xenias do good in higher calcium levels?

 

[Phyto]

My Xenia are in with clams and other hard corals with a Calcium reading of around 420. They appear very happy. I keep the Calcium above 400 so I don't know how/if the levels would effect the pulsing. I would consider levels below 400 a little low.

jbittner; I have never heard of the pH deal before. I'll have to make a note of that. What do you consider high and low pH?

 

[chrisbenavides]

Quick question thats a little off topic: Can Xenias feed off of dried Phyto like Phytoplan?

 

[RokleM]

It will be hard to give Xenia too much flow or too much light. I have two batches growing 8" under my T5's that have bleached other corals. As well, my best bunch gets ravaged by my powerhead it's trying to grow towards.

No need what so ever to feed or anything. If there are nutrients in the water, it will be fine.

Give it some time, get it some more flow, and move it decently close to the lights (haven't tested over 175 MH).

 

[chrisbenavides]

Thanks!

I would say they are about 6" from the 260w PC lights. I am using a total of 280w of lights in the tank though. I am assuming there is enough nutrients. I skim a lot.

But I'm sure there are enough nutrients, since I still get algae blooms in my sand, right?

Good news, I am starting to see that they are pumping. Even though its slow, its a lot more than when I first posted this thread. Maybe they are just slowly acclimating to the tank.

Whats the average growth rate (in time/polyps). Like I asked, i have about 7 polyps of Pom Pom, how long till it doubles. I know zoanthids are fairly slow and Xenias are fairly fast, but how fast?

Any pics of your Pom Pom? I would love to tsee them.

THANKS!!!

 

[RokleM]

It grows VERY fast.

The pictures below were during one of my fragging sessions. The third picture is a stump where I had cut Xenia off, and it was growing back out of the stump about a week later.

Sorry about the quality, I didn't bother putting my macro lens and such on when I was doing this.

 

[chrisbenavides]

Cool picture! Thanks. I guess they do have a fast growing rate. Do they grow faster with more light? Also, are they night time growers or day time? Not that this matters, just curious.

 

[RokleM]

I didn't purchase any Xenia, mine grew out of the rock. However, I can tell you that all the spots that it has grown is higher up on the rockwork.

Mine stay open 24/7 unless they're irritated, but pulse more during the day. No clue when they actually grow.

 

[chrisbenavides]

Thats pretty cool that you did not purchase it. I would think they would die out of water during shipment. They barely survive shipping for most people in water. I guess since the coral was "seeded" in the rock, that makes all the difference. So cool stuff. Where did you get the rock from? In what part of the world does Xenia grow anyway?

 

[RokleM]

http://phishybusiness.com/