Xenia Help

[vzman reef]

My Xenia seems to be in stressed...it was doing well when first purchased about a month ago frist week and half was flowing nicely...momved it to another spot didnt do well, so I put it back to the original spot day after...now its been all balled up...

ph - 8.2...everything else is doing fantastic....

have:
hammer coral
Green Polyps
Pink Polyps
Yellow Polyps
Star polyps
Mushroom

Any thoughts from anyone on what could be the cause? and possible solution?

I:headwalls::headwalls::headwalls: appreciate any help...

 

[falconut]

What fish are in with it? Mine did this because my Flame Angel was nipping it. After he was removed, it opened up and pulses like crazy.

 

[keving]

Xenia can be very finicky; it thrives in some tanks and never does well in others; it also transports rough too, so it may be still acclimating; is it pumping xenia? was it wild caught or cultured? a fish may be picking at it

 

[chathomas]

since I found xenia to be virtually impossible to kill, I wouldn't worry about it which is why I have none in my new tank since they took over the 120

 

[DownwardDawg]

since I found xenia to be virtually impossible to kill, I wouldn't worry about it which is why I have none in my new tank since they took over the 120

LOL. I'm kinda hoping all mine dies during the move next month so it won't transfer over to the 125! Do any fish eat it?

 

[vzman reef]

it is Pulsing Xenia....I have a Clown Fish and Small Blue Tang...nothing I can see was nipping at it...those same fish were in the tank during the time it was doing very well..wasn't a wild piece..was purchased at my LFS..

 

[kissman]

mine did the same thing, i placed it about midway in the tank and its been growing like a weed. I have begun to surround the rock with plugs so it will grow out onto the plugs and then I can trade them in at LFS. That way I help keep it under control

 

[walkerbrody]

xenia does poorly if tanks rise above 83 degrees. Iodine supplement is also helpful to xenia growth and pulse.

 

[droth335]

Xenia in my tank grows like crazy - I just gave away about 20 stalks today. It does sometimes go through phases where it balls up for a few days every couple of months or so. Always pops out of it though (darn!). My foxface will periodically take a few nips of them but I don't begrudge him a snack of those "weeds"!

 

[Dan49]

how much iodine would he use?

 

[FishboyDave]

do yourself a favor and kill the xenia now while you still can...

 

[jcolletteiii]

do yourself a favor and kill the xenia now while you still can...

^+1. Pretty and interesting - graceful pumping of the polyps is very relaxing and beautiful. But... the stuff is insidious. It will start popping up around the tank. Then you'll have multiple colonies, then it'll be everywhere. Then it will EAT ALL OF YOUR OTHER CORALS!!! Well, maybe not that, but it does spread, and pretty fast too. Maybe try attaching it to an isolated rock, separate from everything else by sand. If it's looking unhealthy, try a drop of Lugol's, or some iodide. Never had to do anything special for mine before I ripped it out, and scrubbed the rock (then repeated about 100 times). It was, as others have stated, indestructible. It may be a bit stressed from the trip?

 

[vzman reef]

thanks all!

 

[Fish4Me2]

I agree with the iodine recommendation. When I added pom pom xenia to a very young tank, it was happiest when I supplemented iodine, basically per the label on the bottle. Once the tank matured, it seems like nothing at all I can do will kill it. I left a chunk of it in an unlit Brute trashcan, with cooking rock, and a broken heater, and the stuff survived almost two months, and is growing again! So, try the iodine, keep it out of the flow, and beware, because once it takes off, it takes over!