Question for the Xenia experts?

[J4Life]

I got some Xenia from a friend of mine recently and it has been doing great in my tank so far. It has been in my tank for over 3 weeks. This evening I came home and noticed some clear bulbs at the base of it. The tentacles were a little withdrawn but still extending and the polyps where still pulsing (opening/closing) normally.

So my question is this normal for Xenia or is this a sign that it maybe on its way to a meltdown. I have other soft corals in my tank and I have experience with them sloughing from time to time but I didn't know if Xenia exhibits similar behavior. Here is a picture to give you an idea of what I am talking about.

I appreciate any input. I would really like to keep this in my tank. I love Xenia but have never had much luck with it in the past.

Thanks,
Bill

 

[sir_dudeguy]

hm, thats kinda strange. I've got the same xenia as you, and yes, i've seen some pretty weird stuff on it...but not really anything like that i dont think. Check ALL your levels to make sure they're right. If not, and it IS something bad, those bad levels wont help i'm sure.

It almost looks like some sort of fungus or something..idk. Sometimes when my xenia is growing new branches it does weird stuff like that...but i could be wrong. I dont really pay so much attention to my xenia anymore. I WAS trying to get rid of it...so much for that lol.

 

[J4Life]

Thanks sir_dudeguy all my levels are in the best shape they have been in years. Nothing else is showing any signs of stress and after I took the pictures the tentacles where almost extended to their fullest point so I am not sure what it is. Other than the thin, clear, bubbles at the base it appears very healthy.

I am probably just being to overly cautious. Maybe it is getting ready to sprout some major trunks in all of those locations. I do feed heavy every other day and add Golden Pearls in the 5-50 micron size for all of my corals when I feed the fish. Plus my lighting is pretty strong for my 75 gallon. I have 2 - XM 10k 250's and 2 - URI Super Actinic R T5 bulbs overdriven on an IceCap ballast.

Hopefully someone will have experienced the same thing and can shed some light on the phenomena.

 

[fantastic4]

I'm no expert, but after reading your post... I looked at my Xenia... I think this is normal. Where my Xenia have had these clear lessions, they soon melt or pop and then a hole appears, and then a new branch appears. I think this is how the Xenia prepares to expand.

 

[J4Life]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9422970#post9422970 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fantastic4
I'm no expert, but after reading your post... I looked at my Xenia... I think this is normal. Where my Xenia have had these clear lesions, they soon melt or pop and then a hole appears, and then a new branch appears. I think this is how the Xenia prepares to expand.

Thanks that sounds very encouraging although I maybe looking at about 8 to 10 new branches. Talk about multiplicity. If it grows that fast I will have to give the stuff away.

 

[sir_dudeguy]

oh trust me...it grows that fast and you WILL have to give the stuff away. I could dig up some pictures i think of what my xenia started as and how it ended up before i ended up giving over 3/4's of it away.

 

[fantastic4]

just posted my before and after Xenia cube, I love the stuff, love how they wave in the current.

 

[J4Life]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9423178#post9423178 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sir_dudeguy
oh trust me...it grows that fast and you WILL have to give the stuff away. I could dig up some pictures i think of what my xenia started as and how it ended up before i ended up giving over 3/4's of it away.

Only if you want too.

Fantastic4 just checked that post out. Pretty amazing! Thanks for sharing.

 

[fantastic4]

Thank you J4Life, some people dislike the stuff, I like it better then my zoas, just seems to make the tank come alive. Will let it grow at will. Something else I noticed... I have had two very large mated Maroons for a long while, and they never laid eggs. After the Xenia forest was established, they are now laying eggs just about every two weeks... not sure if this is due to the percieved safety of the Xenia for the fry or if the Xenia is cleaning up my Nitrates? (but the Xenia growth is the only thing that has changed as I have not added anything for a year).

 

[sir_dudeguy]

ok, this is what i started with...basically 2 small 2" pieces.

and here it is only a few months later. For some reason it didnt turn out well in this pic, but its on the left(ish) side of the tank.

 

[J4Life]

Just a few months!:eek1: Can you say Holy Xenia, Batman.

Wow. If it grows like that in 3 months in my I am in trouble. Hopefully it will be steady growth not necessarily and explosive:blown: growth.

Thanks for posting the pictures. That must be a pretty big tank if that is just the left side.

 

[sir_dudeguy]

lol ya there were times when it was completely shriveled up. It was big for about a month, then shriveled for like 2-3 weeks and i thought it was dieing. Then it just took off for some odd reason. I gave away like 3/4's of it but now its starting to get out of hand again.

And no thats not really a big tank...just a 40 breeder It did take up that whole side tho when it was fully opened and stretched out (it doesnt look as big as it normally did in that pic to me). There had to be at least 20 or so stalks of it.

 

[J4Life]

Well that is a bit more encouraging. Actually I would love for it to do well so that I can sell it to the LFS here. They sell it for more than I think it is worth so I might be able to get a good price on it as credit.

Plus I do like it but a forest of Xenia just will not do.

 

[sir_dudeguy]

psh...one of the lfs's by me wont even give credit for the crap. They say "oh we'll take it from you, but we cant give you credit." I'm like..."ya, so you can go sell one stalk of it for 30 bucks? Forget that, i'll just give it away to newbies!

Someone near me claimed that one of the stores actually did give credit for the stuff, but i've never found out. Even if they do give credit for it tho, i doubt it would be much. Like 5 bucks for a whole bunch of it is my guess haha.

 

[J4Life]

I know what you mean. I really hate doing business with most LFS's because they are mostly over priced even when I am paying shipping I can still get it cheaper online. We do have one close by that gives 50% of the value in store credit. Most of their livestock is reasonably priced although lately their prices have been going up. The rest of the stuff though is usually 2 to 2.5 times the cost of it online including the shipping so it is a rarity that I buy something other than livestock or food from them. It usually is an emergency or last resort case for me.

 

[sir_dudeguy]

We do have one close by that gives 50% of the value in store credit

is that only on stuff that you buy from them? Or is it only on fish? Cuz my closest lfs only does fish and they do give 50% of what you paid from them

 

[J4Life]

I only buy corals, fish, and food. They give the 50% credit of the value on coral trade in for store credit.

Sorry I wasn't real clear.

 

[fantastic4]

sir_dudeguy, I really like that Xenia coloration, it looks like they have a hint of blue and silver. Very nice!

J4Life. I can confidently confirm that those bubles are part of the Xenia growth process, since reading your post, I have watched my Xenia trunks closely and I believe this thin buble is formed when the Xenia breaks open a small opening in the trunk to grow a new branch. So it would appear the buble is a thin layer of Xenia skin created by pressure or internal secretion from the newly formed hole.

 

[J4Life]

Thanks fantastic4. I noticed a new bud on the stalk last night which would confirm your statement. I also have at least 10 little ruptures on the stalks of my 2 Xenia branches so I would say that my little Xenia frag is getting ready to grow like gangbusters.:bounce3:

Yahoo!

 

[sir_dudeguy]

sir_dudeguy, I really like that Xenia coloration, it looks like they have a hint of blue and silver. Very nice!

ya its weird. Because i gave the SAME EXACT xenia (i cut it off of my colony) to some guy down the street from me...he's got t5 HO bulbs and i've got just the 4x96w pc...in his tank its more like...brown/red. I'll look for a pic of it...he posted a thread a while ago with pics in my local board. I had also only given him like a 2 inch piece...just before christmas i think it was. And now he's got tons of it like i do in that one pic.