oceanhighz Posted October 25, 2002 Share Posted October 25, 2002 hey everyone, I just got some pulsing xenia the other day, and it looks great. I did the drip acclimation, and everything went well, I put it in the tank after that, and it seemed to be doing great. It stretches out when the lights come on still, and looks great in color, but it isn't pulsing. My water is great zero's across the board, and everything else is doing great. Was wondering what could be wrong, too much current, not placed well, or what, any ideas, and oh I checked my pH and was about 8.3. TYIA Brandon Link to comment
TNreefguy Posted October 25, 2002 Share Posted October 25, 2002 if you put them in slow water current they will usually start to pulse. that what mine did Link to comment
flaunt Posted October 25, 2002 Share Posted October 25, 2002 you'll find a lot of opinions on this, so basically i'll just speak from experience... i have two types of pulsing xenia, i think one is elongata. anyway one is pink colored and more branchy than the other which is whitish-blue in color. one thing for sure IME is that too much current is especially bad. my pink xenia wilted completely after getting whipped around overnight by a misplaced powerhead. i cut it off several days ago and it's still recovering. as far as the pulsing goes, i find my white-blue one pulses a lot more than the pink. i think maybe size has something to do with how rapidly they pulse, as i've noticed a slowdown as they have both been getting larger. i could be wrong about this, maybe someone who reads this has a large xenia that pulses like crazy. some ppl say things like current and ph can affect the amount of pulsing. i have noticed also that less current tends to make their pulsing more noticeable, but mine seem to just do it sometimes and not at other times. i guess i believe more than they have a cycle and sometimes just don't feel like pulsing. Link to comment
oceanhighz Posted October 25, 2002 Author Share Posted October 25, 2002 hey, thanks for the replies, I slowed the current down some, so I'll watch to see what happens, but I am thinking more of the cycle thing, it makes sense, and I have seen it mentioned before, but it could be either of those things. Thanks again, anyone else? Brandon Link to comment
Dave ESPI Posted October 25, 2002 Share Posted October 25, 2002 do a small w/c and slap some Lougolis solution in it. If ya dont have that add some reef iodine. guarontee that will get um pumping. Link to comment
oceanhighz Posted October 25, 2002 Author Share Posted October 25, 2002 hey dave, thanks for that idea, I'll have to try that, I'll find some lugol's and if I don't have any, well off to the LFS I go. we'll see, hope this works. Brandon Link to comment
harbingerofthefish Posted October 25, 2002 Share Posted October 25, 2002 so many xenia stories so little time.... if they use thier pulsing to move water than it would seem to figure that placing them in an area of high water flow would mean thay would not have to pulse as much. If thier pulsing is to move nutrients and your system is high on what they need then again the pulsing would reduce. whether the fact that they are pulsing or not , are thye extending and looking healty? if so, after reading ang reading, I wouldn't fret to much about thier pulsing. Link to comment
Palmetto Posted October 25, 2002 Share Posted October 25, 2002 Sometimes they don't pulse much until they are settled in a bit also. After established, when they slow down pumping, I do a big water change and they get all excited. I just gave mine a MAJOR haircut yesterday. The little pumping critters were shading my 6 gallon badly. (snip) (snip) and into the growout tank! Link to comment
spectre Posted October 25, 2002 Share Posted October 25, 2002 It is believed that xenia need iodine for pulsing and I believe this is true. I have an established colony that pulsed continously for the first few months. As they grew, the pulsing slowed. I contributed this to lower available iodine(i.e. more xenia = more used iodine). Performing weekly water changes supplied enough iodine until the colony got too large. Then water changes were not supplying enough iodine to supplement all of the xenia. Once I began dosing iodine, pulsing has resumed at what I would call a normal level. Low current also plays a big part. HTH Link to comment
flaunt Posted October 25, 2002 Share Posted October 25, 2002 i might try dosing iodine then... how much did you have to use spectre & how often? Link to comment
spectre Posted October 25, 2002 Share Posted October 25, 2002 I use Kent Marine's Super Iodine. The directions call for 5 ml a week for 50 gallons. My xenia are in a 20 gal H tank. So I add about 1/2 ml (I use a syringe) 5 times a week(I change water on Sat. so I don't add any on Sat. or Sun.). This adds up to about 2.5 ml a week. A little more than needed but I also use a protein skimmer, so I'm losing some iodine through that. HTH Link to comment
oceanhighz Posted October 26, 2002 Author Share Posted October 26, 2002 hey spectre, any idea around how much your iodine cost? I am going to get some tomorrow, just wondering so I have an idea, along with the other stuff I want, thanks. Brandon Link to comment
hhasty79 Posted October 26, 2002 Share Posted October 26, 2002 I asked once upon a time in another forum why xenia pulses...Dana Riddle replied to me, and while he said he hasn't proven this theory or anything, he beleives that xenia pulse to get rid of all the darn slime they produce. In high current areas, they don't need to. In low current, it helps. Made sense to me. Link to comment
flaunt Posted October 26, 2002 Share Posted October 26, 2002 interesting theory, but i don't know that i've ever seen slime coming off any of my xenia. ??? seems just as likely to me that they pulse in hopes of finding more food floating in the water. seems just as possible that iodine is something they need to assist in their pulsing motion. as usual, who the hell knows for sure? *sigh* X) Link to comment
Pikelet Posted October 27, 2002 Share Posted October 27, 2002 How do you measure a xenia's pulse? Link to comment
hooked Posted October 28, 2002 Share Posted October 28, 2002 I have had my xenia for about 4 weeks. I have them in a medium current area and have never seen them pulse. They shrink up at night and extend great during lights on. I add iodide once a week to my tank at recommended dosages. When I bought them from the store they were pulsing like crazy. I put them in about the same water flow. I have way less light then what the store had them under so not sure how much that affects them. /shrug Link to comment
Dave ESPI Posted October 28, 2002 Share Posted October 28, 2002 Originally posted by Pikelet How do you measure a xenia's pulse? use a hydronophone and listen for the beating? ??? PPM... pulse per minute Link to comment
ThingsReef Posted October 29, 2002 Share Posted October 29, 2002 From the same stock of Xenia different tanks 1)90 gallon with 440w vho lighting lotsa flow. These are spread out longer and don't really pulse. The ends are much larger and extended. 2)20 gallon with 1 250w mh and lotsa flow. These are very short (about 1" tall total while the above mentioned are 3 or 4" stretched out) and grow alot slower but pulse like crazy. They are also lighter in color in the mh's Both tanks get B-ionic 2 part, reef plus (sparingly), and chromaplex. Non of these additives seem to change the characteristics of the xenia. Link to comment
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