Xenia?

[TomDe]

I want to buy a pulsating xenia this morning. The manager at the LFS told me it wouldbe fine in my tank under PC and that it is fine for a beginner(I have mostly zoos, scrhooms, ricorida...)


I read online that they were for more experienced. Who knows but I wanted to get opnions. Good for or a beginner or not?


Thanks

 

[ct_vol]

Mine spreads like the plague and was one of my first corals... The thing about xenia is that it will either do well, or it will melt away to nothing... I know people that do very well with SPS that can't keep xenia for some reason... I constantly have to prune my xenia... I have 3 different types now... In fact I just pulled up one of my Pom Pom's and threw it in my refugium... I think if you're getting it from your LFS and it looks healthy there and is pulsing you should be fine... Xenia is very poor for shipping, but once it arrives healthy, I believe you shouldn't have any problems... Hope this helps...

 

[vessxpress1]

Unkillable IME. If you don't keep them isolated, they will take over your tank in a short period of time.

 

[FelipeBastos]

Xenia seems to like water with some nutrients.

I have some that started taking over my tank. Anything it touched grew a new stalk.

I added a large fuge, 30% of total water volume. They look very heanlthy, but have stopped growing or spreading.
I had them under PCs and they were ok, but under MH they took off.

Felipe

 

[chesapeake]

i have never had luck with xenias untill i started to add trace elements and iodine solution.and now there doing great.

 

[TomDe]

I went there this morning and 3 of the 4 were not moving so I did not buy it. I bought a nice blue/pink zoo instead.

Thanks

 

[TWallace]

I'd say xenia is fine for a beginner coral. Get it locally if possible, because as someone else mentioned, it doesn't ship well. I got some locally (elongata) and it grows great and adapted very well. Later I also bought a small Red Sea pom pom xenia frag from Live Aquaria. It melted away into nothing over the course of a week and a half. I thought it was dead and gone, and then a month later I found some of it growing on part of a rock. It's now back from the dead and starting to look nice.