xenia questions!

squishifishi

squishifishi

Hopelesly Addicted Member
I got some xenia today labled as "Silver Zenia". it was under really high flow so I couldn't tell if it was the pulsing kind or not. If it is, how long until it opens up fully and starts pulsing again? right now it's all sad from the move...
can these guys do ok under very low flow? I'm trying to grow itover the back wall, so it probably will not get much flow at all.
(yes i'm aware this stuff is 'invasive')
thanks for any help!!!
 
Now it looks really bad...:(
the polyps are all shrivled up and little pieces are breaking off. I don't know what I did wrong. The hammer coral I got is doing fine! How can I tell if the xenia is dead, i mean, it's allready gray...
should I take it out? I don't want it to stay and pollute the tank,but I don't want to throw it away if there is still a chance for it to recover.
PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!:(
thank you!
 
just wanted to clear up what I meant by there are chunks breakng off of it.
none of the tentacles are falling off. all the heads/polyps are completely in tact but there are chunky strings of brown coming off of it.
I think it's still alive because a few of the polyps are moving a tiny bit.
If say half of the polyps die Should I cut those off and save the rest? HEELP!
thanks;)
 
squishifishi said:
just wanted to clear up what I meant by there are chunks breakng off of it.
none of the tentacles are falling off. all the heads/polyps are completely in tact but there are chunky strings of brown coming off of it.
I think it's still alive because a few of the polyps are moving a tiny bit.
If say half of the polyps die Should I cut those off and save the rest? HEELP!
thanks;)
Click to expand...

I've had good luck with Xenia, but I've read people can either keep them or not. They will look bad from a move, but should recover within a few days. I can't imagine what you're referring to with brown strings coming off. That doesn't sound good. Mine did grow on the glass, and will branch in the direction of the water flow. They do best in "dirty" water. What are your water parameters?

Do you have a picture you can post? I'd give it a couple more days, and since they do frag so well, you could cut off what looks dead and return to your tank what is doing better.
 
Xenia are very inconsistent in my past exp. as stated above they thrive in dirty water, they prefer higher nitrate water.
 
Well, I siphoned off all the guncky stuff. I think it was probably just emitting slime from stress. I think it is doing a bit better this morning so we'll see how it goes. Interesting about the"dirty water". how can I tell if xenia is dead/dying? how long should it take before itopensand starts pulsing?
thanks!
 
To comment on the "dirty" water, I've heard that, but my own water always reads 0 nitrates, for whatever that is worth :) Mine do well. Never heard of the low salinity thing, but I keep mine at 1.025. When lights are off, mine basically "shut down" and close up and reopen and pulse when lights are on. It's hard to know what would be the cause without knowing more about your water parameters. That could be the factor. I assume this is an established tank and there is no ammonia.
 
No ammonia before adding the coral, but There is a little bit showing up now. I assume this is from toxins excreeted by the new stressed coral. I'm running carbon and will do another pwc tonight to help. my salinity is at .024 I think so I'll add some moe salt to the mix for when I do the next water change and hopefully tat will help out.
another interesting thing I just noticed (though it may be unrelated)
is that my cuc has migrated to the area. nothing bugging the coral, or even touching the coral, but the 2 hermits, emerald crab, and seldom seen brittle star are all out and on that rock which is holding the xenia up against the rock!related, or meerely coincidental?
thanks!
 
Last edited:
squishifishi said:
No ammonia before adding the coral, but There is a little bit showing up now. I assume this is from toxins excreeted by the new stressed coral. I'm running carbon and will do another pwc tonight to help. my salinity is at .024 I think so I'll add some moe salt to the mix for when I do the next water change and hopefully tat will help out.
another interesting thing I just noticed (though it may be unrelated)
is that my cuc has migrated to the area. nothing bugging the coral, or even touching the coral, but the 2 hermits, emerald crab, and seldom seen brittle star are all out and on that rock which is holding the xenia up against the rock!related, or meerely coincidental?
thanks!
Click to expand...

I have no idea what to tell you. If they don't recover here soon, then you've likely lost them :( Some people do have no luck with Xenia, no matter if their water is "good" or not.
 
What is your alk? They do not like low ph. so if your alk is below 7 that could be the problem.
 
thanks for all the help! they are doing well now, they are all opened up and look like little flowers:)
some of them are even moving on occasion like they want to pulse...I hope they start pulsing soon, but if not, I'm just happy they're alive!
 
mine won't get much flow, it's allready starting to pulse! I'm so excited!
I broke off the huge plastic plug and propped to coral against the glass so that it can attatch. I can't wait for it to start spreading over the wall...it will look so cool. once it gets too bit I'll frag it down and sell the pieces back to the lfs. tat's what I love about invasive coral, you can use them to pay for the nicer corals:)
 
Mine do fine in lower alk 7 or a little less and not as well in other tanks with alk in 9 dkh range. BTW you can have low ph and high alk. it's th CO2 level in the water that drives pH down. Trying to boost pH with alk supplements is a poor strategy as inconsistent alk is more harmful than pH as long as it's 7.8 or higher.


In the tank with lower alk there is very little skimming . The oter tanks are in a hevily skimmed system. Nitrate and Phospahte are low in the weekly skimmed tank but I suspect there are more dissolved orgnaics organics which seems to make a positive difference.Xenia don't exhibit a feeding response ,so they likely absorb dissolved organic matter from the water to meet there heterotrophic needs.
 
squishifishi said:
mine won't get much flow, it's allready starting to pulse! I'm so excited!
I broke off the huge plastic plug and propped to coral against the glass so that it can attatch. I can't wait for it to start spreading over the wall...it will look so cool. once it gets too bit I'll frag it down and sell the pieces back to the lfs. tat's what I love about invasive coral, you can use them to pay for the nicer corals:)
Click to expand...

You'd be better off getting super glue (gel) and attach it to the glass that way. It may not attach to the glass on it's own. I put mine on the glass, but when it found a rock it attached to the rock. I like mine better on a rock, and now only have one small piece on my overflow box. On the glass, mine stretched, out and the stem got longer, but no extra heads. I'm going to see what a small piece I have on my overflow box will do. I do think they will do better without lots of water movement, though they are hardy and can tolerate both. Good luck.
 
If they do fall all apart leave what ever they are attached to in the tank. Mine did the same thing when I got them. Some times they will grow back from the base attachment. Mine completely fell apart but after 3 weeks I started to see something growing. Now about 4-5 weeks after they "died" they are thriving and the frag is about the size of the quarter now and pulsing away.
 
my brittle star likes to sit on the glass right next to them. he looks just like a polyp! i think he knows he blends in there:)
superglue is too permenant for me. I chane things around a lot so if they attatch on their own, great! if not...oh well:(
I'll see if I can post a pic soon!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

M
GSP won't open
Replies
2
Views
581
Reefing102
Reefing102
C
Coral placement and water flow
Replies
5
Views
951
wvned
wvned
S
Phosphate flow out of live rock
Replies
0
Views
1K
SantaMonica
S
Guygettnby
To reseal or not to reseal 120g.
Replies
5
Views
992
griss
griss
E
Refractometer woes….what would you do?
Replies
12
Views
1K
jrill
J
Back
Top