Xenia: Weed Porportions vs. Failure to Thrive

Went away on holiday for a month , leaving dosing instructions behind for someone to look after my tank. Got my instructions a bit wrong saying that I needed .5ml Brightwell Iodine added daily to the 50 gallon aquarium. Came home to a monster xenia.
I have stopped dosing my tank for a couple of months as an experiment and noticed slow growth from this Xenia. I am keen to try iodine again to see if that has any effect on growth.
 
Mine grab like a weed. Started gluing frags to shells and they grew. Then one day the main colony died. Then the frags... Some say it just does that... Don't know.... Now I have some sprouting out of the sand here and there..
 
I use to like it when I first started a reef tank.I never could keep it isolated,it would break off and start somewhere else.You can also put it in a blender for a couple of seconds and pour in the tank,everwhere it lands it will start growing.Been there done that.
 
My Silver Pulsating grows like mad, I can't give it away quick enough. My Pink Pulsating grows much slower, but actually propagates to others parts of my tank.

Tank temp is 78-79*.
 
just a FYI. but Xenia does not need dirty water to grow ! it can very well grow in ULNS SPS tanks even ! just needs to be given the correct amount of trace elements :) B-Balance does wonders.
 
For the people that dont know,,it has some attraction value to it..Sad to say most people end with opinion of either loving or hating it...I like it but after reading this thread,,it seems like I would rather stay away from it for now..
 
cant grow it... Ive had a 2 in pc grow to maybe 4 inches in 2 years, but gsp ive grown from a frag to almost a foot across in 5 months. Now that stuff can take over.
 
I just tossed some outside to see how long they live in snow. sorry i hate the stuff worst thing i ever put in my tank
 
I don't have it anymore, got rid of it and my anthelia when I upgraded. But when I had it it was in an 8 gallon under PC's, no skimmer, and carbon. I did water changes about once a month, maybe twice, and fed a few NLS pellets every three days or so to my fish. Verrrry low tech system. Filter was bioballs, floss, and carbon. The xenia, anthelia, and GSP all grew super fast :)
 
Xenia should be treated like green hair algae and Lionfish in the Atlantic. They are way too invasive and take over everything. There should be warning labels on them for beginners.
 
I control mine using a needled syringe and vinegar. You can inject into the stalk, and then with a light pull, the xenia will release from the rock, leaving no cells behind. Works like magic. I have also employed this method for killing vermetids, but that is a different subject.
 
i find mine always grows better whenever i dose iodine, or do a waterchange wich is rare. and as of now i am battling briopsis and have been raising my mag daily, and the xenia and anthelia seem to be also enjowing the extra mag. i love the stuff and plan on trying to cover the entire back wall of my tank in xenia, anthelia, kenya trees, and cloves. like a living, water cleaning backdrop
 
I bought a frag almost 2 years ago, I can stick a piec of rock in the middle and frag it quick. However my colony went from a frag to roughly 10"x 6" since then it doesn't seem like it is in a hurry to spread out. My nitrates are 0 po4 is roughly .03. I do a water change when ever I feel like it, once every few month's. lightning is 3-250 20k mh.
 
Mine grow so fast, its becoming a problem. thats why every water change. ill remove a bit.
I have a small nano cube. and no skimmer. I change water once every 2 weeks.
I do have an external filter with aquarium cotonish stuff
 
My frag is just melting away. Was nice and pulsing when I purchased it. Week later looks like its a goner. Kept the tank at 79 degrees. High Flow. 7 bulb T5.
 
Mine seems to love anything :)

My 65 has 2*250 MH (( 20,000K Radiums )) plus 2*96 PCs (( dual actinics )), have 2 MP10s for flow, along with the Mag 5 return pump.
I can go from weekly water changes to once a month (( when my back acts up )), with no change.
Temps, 76-83, depending on the time of day/year.
Water changes only, no dosing.
Decent bio-load;
Flame angel
Coral Beauty angel
Multicolored angel
Flasher wrasse
Golden lawnmower blenny.

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FTS12_9_12.jpg
 
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