Pulsing Xenia help needed ASAP!

F

Frozen Roadkill

New member
I got a free frag of pulsing xenia from a fish store in Austin Sunday and drove it home 4 hours to Dallas. I have been waiting to get a good looking xenia frag for a while, so I was really happy. It looked fine, even pulsing a bit in its baggie. The fish store guy used a razor blade to pop it off, and a little peice of rock even came with it at the base. I super-glued that sucker on a nice peice of live rock, and content with my accomplishment, put it in the aquarium (I floated it for 30 minutes first mind you). Now, I wasnt aware it liked to be in less current in the aquarium, so it was in a current all night. The next afternoon, much to my dismay, it was hanging on the rock by 1/3 the original stem (it broke off). I touched it to put it in low current, and clear juice seeped out (I could tell the diffrence of liquids, I never took it completally out of the water, even while glueing). I freaked out, but just had to wait. I didnt know if its juice could poison my whole tank. It didnt, but now its looking pretty patetic. It is in low current, but is not pulsing. I know this is a sensative coral. (sorry for my long explanation)

Should I glue the stem down where it broke off? (I didnt know if it would clog any stem things or anything) Is there anything else I can do to try and pull it through?

Any advice is much appreciated!
Liz
 
Hi Liz,
Its undergone a lot of stress from the fragging to the long drive and being put into a new tank. Give it a few days to perk up, add some iodine to the water (xenia love iodine:) ) and put under medium flow, mid-upper tank level for lighting reasons.
Are there any other corals near it? If so, give it a solitary spot and wait it out. Hope it turns out well!
 
Hi Liz,
One more thing. Although a razor blade is somewhat acceptable to frag with, I would NEVER use one. I would make sure next time a coral you want to purchase gets fragged, have the person or LFS use bone cutters. Razor blades can be unclean,messy and may result in only a partial cut if not done correctly. This simply adds to the stress on the coral if it has to get cut more than once.
Single cut = Happier coral. :cool:
Good luck!
 
Should I be worried about its broken stem thing? Like gluing it down all the way or anything?

And is iodine okay with a mantis shrimp, yellow coris, zoanthids, and Lord Anths.?

Thank you :)
 
At this point I wouldnt glue it yet. See what happens in the next couple days. Watch for discoloration and shriveling of that specific branch. If it continuers to deteriorate, you may have to operate.
Iodine will be fine with anything you have. Iodine is already present in the salt mix you use, but it doesnt hurt to add the supplement as the iodine in the salt mix gets used up fairly quickly by your system after a water change. Kent makes a great iodine formula, but Seachem or others should be fine also.
 
Okay. There seems to be some brown happening where the stem broke, and there is only 1 think branch of it. It is at the base. And I can buy bottled special saltwater iodine at fish stores? How much should I add (Ill try and get some soon if it will signifigantally help)
 
Is the entire stem browning? It could be trying to heal itself after the fragging. Monitor it closely for a couple days,sometimes it takes a bit of time for it to heal.
Kent makes the iodine supplement that I use. Look for the red bottle made by Kent.
 
Okay. Just a bit of brown, and when I turned on the lights tonight it was pulsing for the first time since I got it home!!! Its a 12-gallon nanocube DX


OUCH2.jpg

Out of major current

OUCH.jpg
 
Liz, that great that it's finally pulsing!

A couple of suggestions;
1) When do you turn your lights on and for how long? (I noticed you wrote that "tonight" when you turned your lights on....). Xenia love light and lots of it, so give it what it wants!

2) Watch for a slight sway pattern to the arms. If it doesnt have any at all, move it to a slight current. Based on the photo and where the Flow director is located and pointing, move the rock towards the front and slightly to the left. The flow looks as though it may hit the front of the glass and come down. If it does, this should be sufficient. Remember that as it heals from being fragged and gets used to its new home, it will be easier to move if you feel the need to do so. Hope this has all helped!
 
Hi Bob,
How big is your system that has the t-5's and how many watts do you have? I have heard so many good things about t-5's but havent tried them.
 
i have a mixed 75 with a tec 6x54 on cable hangers. truly happy with it. i have softys, lps and 1 small sps frag. rock is a tbs package 150 lb of mixed gulf and keys
 
Xenia has amazing abilities to grow from small pieces. When I was given a frag of xenia, a similar thing happened to me. The coral completely separated from it's base. I was able to attach the xenia frag, but I still thought that the base of the coral might survive even though it was just a piece of flesh with no polyps. I put it in an area of moderate flow, and high light. Within two weeks, it sprouted new polyps and is a nice little colony.
 
Yeah, it looks like the base might be growning. The main 2 stalks (still attached together) have attached to the rock. Now its like it was when I first glued it, the stem just being shorter. So I think ill have that peice, and maybe a new peice growing from whats left of the base. Good deal. :) Thank you for you help ReefCraze!
 
I brought some kent idodine today, and since I only have a 12 gal, added a couple drops. It says do it once a week, so I will, and will hopefully see SOMETHING happeneding ;)

My xenia is still looking iffy, but is growing(?!) The broken stem is definatally growing, and I see new little flower things, the things that pulse, growing on the existing stalks. Yay!!!
 
Sounds like the Xenia is healing. They have a remarkable track record for bouncing back quickly after being fragged. Your Xenia
sounds like it is doing fine and should see lots of growth soon! The iodine will certainly help as well as regiment water changes
(in your case 1-2 gallons every week) . Post pics again soon.:)
 
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