Disintergrating Xenia

i don't think cutting away parts would help

 

Heres a thread about what happened to my Xenia. I thought it was totally going to die but I left it in there to see what would happen since I knew it wouldn't harm anything! Mine has come back in full force and looking great!

http://www.3reef.com/forums/asap/pulsing-xenia-dying-51962.html

 

i had a colony about 15 stalks melt away in about 5 days that was around 4monthes ago and its growing back ..xenia is strange

 

I love Xenia, but it doesn't love me. I think I finally figured out why mine did not thrive in my tank......phosphates. My phosphates not been controlled until recently. Your's seem to be on the high side. I try to keep mine at or below 0.03. Zero would be optimal. I would blame your melting xenia on PO4. The only fish I know of that likes to snack on Xenia is the humbug damsel. Others leave it alone.

 

what about PH? xenia is sensitive to PH changes. don't have much luck with xenia either, but just a thought.

 

Its not sensitive to pH change. It was one of my first corals and i had no idea what the hell i was doing then....i had it in a 29 for 6 months or so.

its doing great now...i did use to target feed it...which was pointless probably lol

but its about twice the size now

I do add iodine on a regular bais...but honestly in his case, it looked like something has been chewing on it ...doesnt look like natural decay because why would it just happen to one stem

 

My PH fluctated a lot before I got a fuge... they were definately not affected. They're pretty hardy, and they will grow back. Usually they do that when they're damaged.

 

Hey!
Just my 2 cents: In fact, Xenia sp. is very sensitive to iodine level oscillations. You mentioned you were running carbon 24/7 ?! If yes, well... You iodine level is probably almost zero! Why ?! Well, activated carbon has got ultra high affinity for iodine. Moreover, the amount of iodine that different activated carbon types can adsorb is the measure of their filtering capabilities and is even specified if you buy carbon filters for laboratory grade RO units. The more the better!! This is why very many aquarists truly discourage usage of carbon in reef on the daily basis.

Could you do the iodine test ?!

 

I dont have an iodine test, maybe i'll get one. The Xenia has stopped "dinintergrating" now and appears to be recovering.
My LFS has told me in the past that carbon abosorbs iodine and i should dose it.
Im just lazy sometimes.

 

Good news! If I were you, I would simply remove carbon, and keep it for emergencies! Good luck!