ok before you all get mad at me, my friend gave me this coral called xenia. I was doing ok for awhile in my tank and now it win't open. it looks like a flower bud. my water is perfect, I add calcium to my tank daily. my othere corals look great. I have the right lights too. what does this thing need? It hasn't melted(thats a good thing right?
xenia ???
- Thread starter Cruella
- Start date
Linda C.
New member
Xenia like moderate/continuous water movement and somewhere around 8+ hours of good lighting. Melting would not be a good thing...that would mean it turned into slime/gunk and "melted away....bye-bye" Yours is still there but just isn't opening-correct? Check the water flow and lighting and see if that helps. Let me know if it does.
Ken668
New member
Xenia is a good indicator coral. They will typically be one of the first corals to tell you something is wrong in the tank. You keep saying your levels are all perfect, but yet you haven't posted any. To really help you, we need to know the following:
PH -
Ammonia -
Nitrite -
Nitrate -
Temp -
Salinity -
PH -
Ammonia -
Nitrite -
Nitrate -
Temp -
Salinity -
Xenia is a fickle coral. I have had it come and go in my tank. It blooms, it dies back, it sits doing nothing for months then BOOM ! it take off like a weed in the tank, and covers everything.
I've lost a bunch of colonies of it before, and had some that do well and come back from almost nothing out of nowhere.
The usual culprit is initial differences in chemicals and toxicological byproducts and growth inhibitors in your tank water from already established corals. If you have a lot of leathers in the tank, the terpenoids and other biological waste/ warfare elements will affect xenia.
I have some anthelia if you want some. It is fairly bullet proof to say "just leave it alone, and see what happens in time".
I've lost a bunch of colonies of it before, and had some that do well and come back from almost nothing out of nowhere.
The usual culprit is initial differences in chemicals and toxicological byproducts and growth inhibitors in your tank water from already established corals. If you have a lot of leathers in the tank, the terpenoids and other biological waste/ warfare elements will affect xenia.
I have some anthelia if you want some. It is fairly bullet proof to say "just leave it alone, and see what happens in time".
kpcollins31
New member
When I first got into the hobby, I was always adding different types of supplements - calcium, iodine, strontium, etc.. The problem was that I was not measuring for any of these things. Things seemed great for a while and then it crashed - most of my coral died including the xenia I had.
I learned from those mistakes - now I do not add any supplements. I have been relying on a 10% weekly water change to replace whatever has been used up. As a result, my xenia has been spreading along with the other corals in the tank.
Stop adding calcium unless you are testing for it (and anything else for that matter). Keep up with weekly water changes - with a little time, everything should be fine. Whatever you do - don't rush anything. Somewhere on this forum, someone once said "nothing good happens quickly in a reef tank" - words to follow.
Kevin
I learned from those mistakes - now I do not add any supplements. I have been relying on a 10% weekly water change to replace whatever has been used up. As a result, my xenia has been spreading along with the other corals in the tank.
Stop adding calcium unless you are testing for it (and anything else for that matter). Keep up with weekly water changes - with a little time, everything should be fine. Whatever you do - don't rush anything. Somewhere on this forum, someone once said "nothing good happens quickly in a reef tank" - words to follow.
Kevin
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