Xenia not pulsing

[reefer1967]

Hello all,

My pulsing xenia is not pulsing,have had it in my tank for 4 months now,it is growing great,just not pulsing. I know it is the pulsing type,I bought it at a LFS out of his show tank,and the mother colony was pulsing great. All the water peratmeters are good,and I have it under vho lighting. If any one can help please reply... Thanks David

 

[fishfarmer]

What type of lighting was it kept at the LFS? My xenias pulse best directly under my MH and with Calcium around 400+ ppm and alk around 3 meq/L, but will still pulse some when the alk/Ca is lower.

 

[MIKE NY1]

Xenia for me are a very unpredictable species. I have two colonies in the same tank. One is high and the other alittle lower on the rocks. A stalk here and there crashes for a unknown reasons, but seem to come back after a few days and even stranger is the colony which is lower pulses and the higher one doesn't. They were both orig. fragged from the same mother colony. Go figure!

Mike

 

[Anonymous]

I've had the same pulsing xenia colony for over 5 years, and it is always the same thing when it comes to pulsing: light. They pulse great under intense light, the closer the better. Of course they are unpredictable from colony to colony.

 

[nin0]

I agree with reefmole about the water movement. Mines tend not to pulse when the current is high or directed on to them.

 

[reefer1967]

Thanks guys,The xeniea is in a high flow area,and I will move it to a low flow area to see what happens. Thanks David

 

[ReefMole]

You didn't mention what your water flow is like??
I have 2 powerheads, one is constantly 'on' the other is on a timer. When the more powerful powerhead's timer kicks it on there is much more current in the tank and my xenia does not pulse at all. When it turns off my xenia resumes it's pulsing. I've also noticed that it pulses more or less depending on the time of day. If your xenia is in a high-flow section of the tank, that might be the cause of it not pulsing.

 

[ADS]

Xenia will adapt to most conditions including light and water flow. Lower light Xenia does pulse slower in my tank. I have Xenia growing on glass and directly in front of a powerhead pulsing like crazy. My understanding of the pulsing is it is a type of 'respiration' for Xenia.(Gas exchange and nutrient capture). I expect that some water parameter is off in your tank. Extension and pulsing are usually indicative of stable parameters, primarily Alk(IMO). With past reactor problems my Alk decreased to <3.0 and pulsing stopped. It began again once Alk >3.0.
I would recheck the parameters and correct as necessary. Adam

 

[pete]

For unknown reasons some xenia that were pulsing will stop when transfered to other tanks and vice versa. Even after several months of acclimating in the new environment . The pulsing in xenia and its function is something that is not yet understood.