Xenia struggling?

[ArtsyAxolotl]

So I took the plunge and got a couple corals for my nano. I ended up with 2 zoas, a gsp, and a pulsing xenia of some kind. I couldn't afford to spend a ton of money on them. The zoas and the gsp are doing amazingly. They open fully all the time, eat up coral smoothie like champions, and are generally just great looking corals. The Xenia.... well. I've attached a picture.

 

No matter what I do, I cannot get it to open. Low flow, high flow, higher in the tank, lower in the tank, somewhere shady... It just isn't happy. I put it up high close to a powerhead (without being blown directly onto it) and it opened up the most it ever has since I brought it home, and then within an hour had shriveled up to the picture below. This is the worst I've seen it.

 

 

There was another cluster of polyps on the other side of the plug that smoothed out in to a fleshy lump, losing all its polyps all together. This one looks like its trying to do the same.

 

Is it officially a goner? I feel so terrible when I look at it. Everything else in my tank looks wonderful, especially my crabs and fish, but this one just looks so pathetic... Is it something to do with that sponge thats on the plug as well? Or wouldn't that do anything? Or is it stressed about something? The crabs kept knocking it over until I glued it down.. Could they have hurt it?

 

Dunno if this is worth mentioning but if I spray iodine over it with a syringe (just the small amount that I was about to dose anyway, as I don't want to overdose the tank), the squished up heads of the polyps attempt to pulse.

 

 

 

 

((Also if that picture isn't clear enough, I can try to get another. Although I have this feeling that one of the experts here will know.))

 

((Oh and also this wasn't where I had the xenia. I moved it down to the sandbed when I saw how unhappy it was. The polyps have noticeable "fingers" now instead of being balled up, but the necks are still short. I'm going to leave it here until I get back from work.))

[Tamberav]

Xenia can be tempermental , did you just get it? Mine is in low flow and moderate to high lighting but it can grow almost anywhere. It is best to start low though since i am not sure what lighting the LFS had it under.

 

What is the tanks temp? Xenia will melt under high temps.

 

Some people can not grow xenia at all but if you just got this coral, it is probably still adjusting, I would stop moving it around. Mine took several days to come around when I first got it.

[ArtsyAxolotl]

I've had it for a few weeks now, although with my crazy work schedules the days blend together and I couldn't really tell you how many weeks unless I looked up the receipt. I try not to move it like... daily or anything. But if it looks particularly unhappy in a location, I move it, like I did this afternoon when it was entirely crinkled up.

 

The LFS actually had it under the same light I have. The guy sold me the smaller, nano size version of the setup he has and showed me the settings he uses. I'm new to the lighting stuff (as my axolotl doesn't even have a light) so I sorta just followed whatever he said.

 

Could be temperature, I didn't know they didn't like high heat. How high is too high for xenias? The water is something around 78-80 (I need to get a new thermometer. The one I have isn't super precise.)

[Kellie in CA]

Mine looked pretty sad for a couple weeks after I first got it. It's now in a lower flow area and seems to be happy. This is one coral that doesn't like to be messed with.

[ArtsyAxolotl]

Yea, they really don't seem to like to be touched O.o Well, I moved it out of high flow down towards the bottom of the tank. It's extending a little bit, though it still looks unhappy. I'm going to leave it there for a while. I can't think of what else to do for it.

[ArtsyAxolotl]

And its back to balling up its little fingers. I don't know what changed. It was looking better two days ago and now it's back to shriveling up. and it looks like its missing a few more polyps towards the middle, like its melting into itself.

 

I have a feeling this poor guy is done. I really don't know what went wrong. Everything else in my tank seems perfectly happy, but this xenia just hates my tank :<

[Boggers]

That pic from 2 days ago looked pretty good, and I would just leave it be. However, if fingers are missing I would be looking to see if anything is pecking at it. Do you have any crabs or fish in this tank?

[ArtsyAxolotl]

I have a few crabs, who could absolutely be culprits. The biggest of the polyps seem to be doing a lot better and it kinda looks like there's tiny polyps still in the middle. I have two clowns but they could care less about my corals lol.

[MrsPeet15]

I'm new to salty water so when my xenias went in and looked crap I had a total melt down, I mean they looked so bad for about a week and a half but they did come back, I'm no expert at all but maybe they are just acclimatising?

[tibbsy07]

Are you dosing anything?

[ArtsyAxolotl]

Yea, I'm dosing with the Kent brand "nano reef A and B" bottles, and once a week I add "fuel" which I believe is by Seachem?

 

I'm wondering if the Xenia was just taking some extra time acclimating, because I drip acclimated it, but maybe it just needed more time. I'll grab pictures of it when I get home!

[tibbsy07]

Could be. For as hardy as they supposedly are, I have found them to be very fragile

[drexel]

First off, stop moving it around and just let it be. Sometimes it takes a while before a new inhabitant is happy. The best thing you can do is keep everything stable. Btw, what are your parameters? Temp? SG? dKH? What's your lighting? How long? etc..... If xenia dies off, it usually "melts" away. If you still see polyps and they are "standing", you should be okay. If they are lying over and just flopping around with noticeable tissue flaking off, then it's probably too late. As a rule, it's better to start off new pieces in lower light and slowly move them to their final destination after a week or two. Corals can live longer with lower light than with too much light. Be patient and give it some time.

[StinkyBunny]

If your alkalinity is low, Xenia will be the first to let you know by melting.

[Reef Queso]

Did you ever measure your parameters? What size tank is this? My opinion: I wouldn't dose kent "nano reef" a and b unless you're testing. When I was a noob I dosed like half a dose and it shot my calcium up to 600ppm and dkh to 16.

 

There's no need to dose anything unless your tests show those specific elements are low.

 

And iodine also? I'm not sure if you should be squirting iodine above the corals. In my 15 gallon I literally dose three drops once a week just because it's fun to dose. I probably shouldn't be adding iodine either, because my shrimp and hermit crabs usually molt about every four weeks which is every four water changes.

 

Let us know if your Xenias make it!

[ArtsyAxolotl]

Bah, I forgot to reply to this thread

 

So I moved the xenia to the bottom of the tank on the sandbed, under the frogspawn. It gets sorta... "tickled" by the flow from the powerheads, less than the GSP but more than the Duncan, and it seems happy. The polyps are so little but its definitely growing more and it gets really excited when I feed the tank (the polyps fall all the way open and the little mouths are really visible). They're back to pulsing, too! I've got a picture of the colony for you guys!

 

I appreciate all the tips and suggestions! I think all your suggestions helped the xenia settle in and saved the little guy

 

 

Also nano reefer, I was dosing because all my elements were low in the beginning. I've since stopped dosing unless a particular element gets low. But while I was dosing yes, I was testing. Still do. Squirting iodine over the xenia was a one-time test. If you spray a little over them they pulse. I only did it once to make sure they were still alive. I don't add it normally.

[North Borders]

What are your nutrients like?