Jump to content
Coral Vue Hydros

Secret to growing xenia?


cyenna

Recommended Posts

me thinks they like nitrates because when i turkey baste the tank and use poly fill to catch all the crud they shrivel up and get skinny and then when i take that poly out they perk back up

Link to comment
  • 8 years later...

I tossed a frag in my tank, never really liked the way the frag looked but it finally dropped a branch onto the main rock work so I removed the frag. I feel like this got me a more natural look than a random frag plug with Xenia growing on it. Right after I removed the main piece.. the drop branch quickly declined and I thought it died. I even tried to suck it out at one point... but now it looks good and has tripled in size. As of lately... I haven't touched the tank. Salt is 1.025, temp 78-79, skimmer is running extremely dry and I'm around a month without a water change. With that said my parameters are also good...undetectable nitrates and phosphates.  Sometimes you just have to step back and let nature take its course. I also feel like older tanks are going to support any corals better than newer tanks. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
  • 10 months later...
myscrn2yours

For what it is worth, I was told by a saltwater fish tank store owner that the 'success' I had with my Xenia is due to stress. My salinity was super high. As a newbie, I was topping off with saltwater instead of fresh. He said the super fast spreading was the coral trying to survive; breaking off pieces at the mother in an attempt to fight for survival. I had so much Xenia that when I took the rocks with Xenia on it to a FS, I received $300.00 in credit. 
I was told that it is 'stress' that enables people like Jason Fox to create the pretty corals he sells for top dollar. He puts them in EXTREMEMLY stressful situations - raising or lowering salinity, etc. - anything to get the zooxanthelles to jump ship resulting in white coral. The 'new' breeds of coral that we see and pay top dollar for are from months of testing in these conditions. Basically, when the zooanthelles return, which pattern or formation will they take. 
I find Xenia does like dirty water and good flow.  Not to be confused with filthy. I don't think the flow causes it to grow, but assist with the breakage and shifting to another part of the tank giving it that 'it just popping up everywhere' experience.

I have heard the 'success' we see with anemones and other corals can be the same. Not always of course, but I have been told the splitting and breaking off as opposed to new sprouts is an attempt to survive in a not so great environment.

Link to comment

And a new topic revival.. Had xenia growing like crazy in my display and moved some in quarantine too. Still kept growing and multiplying. Couple of months later I added a carbon bag in tbe quarantine filter and overnight all xenia melted.. Anyone else noticed something similar? 

Link to comment
Christopher Marks
5 hours ago, Bodo said:

And a new topic revival.. Had xenia growing like crazy in my display and moved some in quarantine too. Still kept growing and multiplying. Couple of months later I added a carbon bag in tbe quarantine filter and overnight all xenia melted.. Anyone else noticed something similar? 

It's possible you stripped the nutrients out of the water in your quarantine system, causing the xenia to decline rapidly. Was it only carbon, or a blend of media with carbon?

 

Welcome to the community @Bodo!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
  • 10 months later...
On 2/19/2007 at 2:34 AM, chrisstankevitz said:

a friend of mine has lots of xenia growing. big thick powerful looking xenia with lots of pulsing action. I took a frag and it is not doing as well in my tank.

 

His tank is

saltier

warmer

dirtier (less freq. water changes)


I love Xenia. It was the first coral I ever bought and it grew to ten times the size it was when I first got it. Then we moved and things went downhill. In your post you made the comment that the friend’s tank was dirtier. I heard this is the secret. They like a little stuff in the water. I didn’t do water changes in the beginning because my logic said if something’s not broke don’t fix it. If everything else is kosher this appears to be the key. Just my thoughts. 

Link to comment
  • 5 months later...
On 2/18/2007 at 11:42 PM, cyenna said:

For some people, it's like a weed and for others it just melts away

I have had both experiences, Xenia was my very first coral, it grew decently at first, then like 90% of it melted away and I thought for sure it was dead, but several months later the survivors rebounded and took over my entire tank, I had to remove a lot of them, and am now doing weekly trimmings to keep in in check.  Oddly enough at the same tame the Xenia was growing out of control, my GSP melted away, can't help but think there is a connection. 

 

On 2/18/2007 at 11:42 PM, cyenna said:

1. What brand of salt do you use?

Just the standard instant ocean.  

 

On 2/18/2007 at 11:42 PM, cyenna said:

 

On 2/18/2007 at 11:42 PM, cyenna said:

2. What kind of water do you use? RO, RO/DI, DI, tap, etc...

RO/DI

 

On 2/18/2007 at 11:42 PM, cyenna said:

3. What is the pH level your tank is maintained?

8.2/8.3

 

On 2/18/2007 at 11:42 PM, cyenna said:

4. What is the temperature?

Around 78/79 F

On 2/18/2007 at 11:42 PM, cyenna said:

5. How much flow is on your xenia? low, moderate, high?

Moderate to high.

 

On 2/18/2007 at 11:42 PM, cyenna said:

6. Lighting?

Moderate

 

On 2/18/2007 at 11:42 PM, cyenna said:

7. Do you dose anything? iodine? Phytoplankton? buffer?

I used to use a PH buffer, but not for several months.

 

On 2/18/2007 at 11:42 PM, cyenna said:

8. What do you feed your tank?

Mysis shrimp, Plankton, nori sheets, reef roids. 

 

On 2/18/2007 at 11:42 PM, cyenna said:

9. What kind of xenia?

Pulsing, and waving hand. 

 

On 2/18/2007 at 11:42 PM, cyenna said:

10. How big was the frag you got to begin with?

It was a rock with several polyps on it, probably 1"-2" inches.

 

On 2/18/2007 at 11:42 PM, cyenna said:

11. SG? salinity? whatever it is that you read with a hydrometer and refractometer

1.024-1.025 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
  • 9 months later...

We just bought xenia's for out tank. It's was nice and opened and pulsing perfectly  my husband had dose the tank with Ick. They closed up and haven't opened since. He did a water change about 1 week ago and they haven't opened yet. Don't know if they are died.

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recommended Discussions

×
×
  • Create New...