Resolved I can save my coral or is it to late?

2 days ago I bought a pulsing xenia and this was my first coral ever, when I came home from work yesterday it was detached from the rock andw was missing its stem (all fish are reef safe) so i attempted to reattach it with its stem missing. It came off two more times. When I woke up this morning I noticed it laying in the sand, but it was pulsing which means its still alive right? I was attaching it with gel super glue, from what i heard is great. Should i go buy some epoxy and try to reattach it or is it to late??

I pulled it out of the sand and placed it in a container, until I can figure out what I should do

P.h 7.8
Alk 300
Nitrite 0
Nitrates 20

 

I'm going to guess that people are going to ask for more information, so I'll start things off. How long has the tank been established? What lighting do you have? How deep is that sand bed? What is your phosphate reading? Salinity?

20 nitrates is not the end of the world, but its not ideal either. At a guess, your tank is not processing waste ideally. The xenia is stressed from the change in conditions, the less than ideal new conditions, and probably from being poked, prodded, and superglued a bunch. I would put a tank safe container in the tank, put the xenia in it, and let it relax a bit. Then start a discussion about how to create conditions ideal for corals on here by getting as much information as possible to the experts around here that an advise you way better than I.

 

In my experience, it is not too late until it starts to melt and gives off an awful smell. Xenia already smells bad enough when it is healthy lol.

If the superglue method isn't working, you can try using a needle and thread and tying it on a rock. After it attaches and is looking healthy, cut the thread and slide it out of the xenia. Do not try to yank the thread off because you will end up taking the xenia off with it/damage it.

I am curious, can you describe to me how you attach the xenia using the super glue gel and the size of the xenia? It can simply be not attaching because your methods of gluing the frag/coral are a little off.

 

Tank is two months old, sand bed is 3 inches, salinity is 1.025

Thanks

 

The xenia is very small, 1/4 inch maybe. I pulled the live rock out the the water set it on a towel put some super glue of the spot i wanted the xenia to go and held the xenia on the glue for 30-40 seconds and placed into the water.

 

Ahh, with the super glue method I dry the rock (like you did), put a little drop of gel on the spot I want it to attach to, dip it in the tank water (it forms a dry "protective bubble"), take it out of the water, put some more gel on it, put it back in the water (hardens the gel again), and so forth until I get a good layer of gel on the spot. I then push the frag's base into the gel layer/bubble firmly, and wait about 60 seconds. This method usually works pretty well because it gives the gel more room to work with and surrounds/secures the coral to the rock.

But with a frag that small, I understand how it can be a pain to glue. I would just use the sewing needle/thread method and let it be.

If you are uncomfortable with poking a hole through your coral, you can rubber band the frag (not too tightly, it will cut the frag in half). Wait until it grows over the rubber band and remove the same way you do with the needle and thread method.

 

I ended up using the needle and thread and tying it down. It been about 5 hours and its still attached so thats a good sign, however only half the plant is starting to pulse. Hopefully it will recover. Thanks for all your help!

Is there any suppliments I should give to help it heal?

 

When I have had this issue I take a sm container like a shot glass or sm. bowl. Place sm pieces of LR rubble in the bottom, but xenia on top, place in area with very little flow and let it attach, usually takes about 2 weeks.

Good luck hopefully you can save it.

 

The best thing I can think of is to just try to have the best water quality you can. Maybe some others here can chime in on supplements for coral. I never used any, but I am sure there are some out there.

Also, give it two weeks in the minimum for it to attach. I would wait a month or so. Good luck with the xenia, and pretty soon you will be posting on here to get rid of the damn thing!

 

I had two Xenia buds that kept floating away like that. Every time i thought they were goners. They were limp and did not pump. But i kept re-attaching with superglue to different rocks in the tank.

Eventually I found a good spot where they liked it. Those two are now healthier and larger then the original colony.

Keep glueing it on. Try to find a moderate flow spot somewhere mid-tank.