xenia problems..

[coralcrazy]

okay guys, here is the probelm i have had with xenia...i got some nice healthy xenia from a member about 3 times, each time it has melted..and polluted my tank...i had them in my 6 gallon cube before i sold it, i want to put another frag of xenia..don't worry in a while in my 2 gallon cube...i don't want it to pollute my tank..cause it would destory the tank...what am i doing wrong..water was fine 0 nitrate and such?...MH lighting 70 Watt on 6 gallon...but for my 2 gallon cube i am going to put PC 2X9 Watt lights...i want to make sure this goes well..

 

[Reefer420]

i noticed my Xenia not growing well and my Anthelia getting whitish tips - my Alk was way low. I would check that and see- I really made a difference when I started to bring it back up to par...

 

[nanoreefer22]

okay guys, here is the probelm i have had with xenia...i got some nice healthy xenia from a member about 3 times, each time it has melted..and polluted my tank...i had them in my 6 gallon cube before i sold it, i want to put another frag of xenia..don't worry in a while in my 2 gallon cube...i don't want it to pollute my tank..cause it would destory the tank...what am i doing wrong..water was fine 0 nitrate and such?...MH lighting 70 Watt on 6 gallon...but for my 2 gallon cube i am going to put PC 2X9 Watt lights...i want to make sure this goes well..

Poor acclimation to your lighting could be the cause. That was a lot of light over a 6 gallon cube. Depending on where the xenia came from, specifically the light it was under maybe it was just overwhelmed by the amount of light given to it off the bat. Just a thought, next time find out where it came from in the persons tank and their lighting scheme, xenia shouldn't be that easy to kill.

 

[Quang]

Xenia's are a funny little species. Either they like your tank or they won't. There was an article a few months back in Tropical Fish Hobbyist that explains the decline of xenias in a reef tank. Acclimation and placement and flow aside, lets say you're xenia is doing awesome for the first few months and then start to melt and die, its perfectly natural. Xenias go through this die off stage every year, usually around spring time. There have been recommendations and suggestions to reduce this by having different types of xenia in your tank. Somehow, having different types minimizes the potential of the xenia going through that die off stage. In the wild, this happens periodically but somehow the colonies bounce back, lets say 1/100 colonies. However, in your tanks, those odds are not good. I've had my xenias for almost 6 months now and I have the Red Sea Pom Poms and the Elongata types. I think that theory, so far, is working. That's all I remember of the article. Let me try to dig up the article and give you more specifics.

 

[loismustdie]

xenia is also sensitive to excessive heat. Your lighting sounds like the problem. Also, are you dosing iodine? xenia need Iodine. This may cause some grumbling on this site, but "Coral Vite" from Kent Marine has shown good results with xenia. I would not reccomend dosing coral vite, I'm just saying that there have been good results with it and xenia.

 

[NYPDFrogman]

I wish I had this problem! I dont dose Iodine I have a ton of MH and VHO light over my tank and my xenia grows like a weed. my Phosphate and nitrate are zero long before I added a small frag of xenia. bi weekly I have to get in tank and physically remove it! it's smothered 2 SPS pieces I've had.
it does like water flow