Xenia

[coral reefer]

As quick as Xenia grows and spreads, it can also die and disappear! No one really knows for sure how and why Xenia pulsates??? Many suggestions but not any real concrete evidence.
pH
high salinity
location
species type
Since I posted my first thread on this subject... I had 3 stalks, currently I have about 30 and they have grown up the whole side of my tank and all pulsing! BEAUTIFUL...I'll see if I can take a video on youtube for ya'll!

[nemo79]

I have 3 xenia frags and at first they drove me nuts. They can be very finicky but when they are happy they are beautiful and hypnotic. Xenia use up alot of iodine so you dosing reef plus is good...I was advised to do so when mine weren't happy and they have been happy since. Also they really don't like a salinity below 1.025. When my sg was at 1.023 they were horrible looking. I learned through my fellow friend who has a business all these nifty little things about xenia. I changed my sg to 1.025, use reef plus 2 x a week no more, and I raised the xenia to the top of the tank in a moderate flow area and they are happy and pulse. My ph is always between 8.2 - 8.3 and apparently the ph is a falsehood for xenia but I have never run any studies on it so I am not concerned. You will know when your xenia aren't happy...even if a crab is near them they will react to it. They do take a few days to fully acclimate.

[coral reefer]

One important thing to add to the Xenia topic is that when you buy Xenia, MAKE SURE you place it in a desired, ideal location for a couple reasons!
1st)Xenia will gorw and spread at an alarming rate under optimal conditions>great in many scenarios,however, with the growth, Xenia tends to do what algae does, in that it will grow from one rock to another, then hitch on to your corals. Therefore their is that question that needs to be addressed. D you want to have it spread allover or in one place by cultivating it? Then once that question is answered, you have to be careful with surrounding corals and clams because most Xenia species are in the highly toxic category and will cause tissue damage or decrease the amount of light to other corals in the surrounding areas ,by overpoulating on that piece of coral, possibly killing it. Best bet is to have it spread up one side of your tank or on your megaflows to hide them in your tank, thus hidding the structures,
Xenia can be removed rather easy by using a razor or comparable utensil and scrape the stalk from the bottom of so you can remove ot to a better place in your tank.
They truly are a wonderful coral which offers a distinct polyp form unlike any other coral. Once the acclimation stage has been complete, you should have a long term success with this Octocoral, where light really has no effect on it survival!

[Deano]

I have read many different views on xenia. I found a few posts on another web site that mentioned that they do not do well in a tank with excellant water quality such as those with hard corals. I thought we all strived to maintain excellant water qaulity in our tanks. What is ment my this comment?

[coral reefer]

My 125 gallon tank consists of all stonies, both large and small polyped! I have Mushrooms and Xenia in there as well to add some variety. All of my corals are flourishing, so the idea that excellent water quality is or isn't achieved is a misconception, for keeping Xenia.

[Deano]

My xenia, now protected in a clear bowl with netting to keep it from being pecked on. It has shriveled up. It hasn't melted, but just kind of really fadded. I'm hoping in time it will recover. PH is 8.0 and Phosphate 0.5 all others zero. I have 250 watts halides so lighting shouldn't be an issue.

[Solsjealous]

I don't know what i'm doing but it is all over my tank... I started out with two stocks on a rock now i'm in the 40's

[wil3357]

There are also several different strains of Xenia, some grow like a weed, Elongata, and others can be a bit temperamental like the Pom pom.

[Birchell]

I see that no one has brought up the point that xenia, or at least the pulsing kind, is from the red sea. The salinity in the red sea is higher. Like around 1.026-1.028. So mybe that has something to do with them dieing. If the salinity falls to much, they melt. And mybe that is why they pulse with higher salinity. Mine pulse at night toooo. But more so with the moon lights. Lets see what this brings up,

Michael

[jonmacknight]

if any one feels bad about killing the weed xenia, i'll take em' off your hands. I'll put them in my 49 gal. specialty tank or my 39 gal. coral tank. the reason i ask is because i cant realy afford to buy xenia. contact me of you have any extra.