Xenia hard to keep?

Has anyone ever seen them retract all their sweeping tenticles and blow up really tight and shake? Im talking they looked like small water ballons ready to burst for about half an hour then next time I saw them they looked normal. Doesnt happen very often and I have attributed it to a growth cycle. Can someone educate further on this?

And I agree with Bird Lady if you are going to dose Iodide get the test kit. And if you use the concentrated kind be very carefull. Thats why I use Iodide....it is much harder to overdose and if you just add 4-8 drops every few days it would be hard to overdose if your tank is 55 or larger I would think. Also remember that lots of other additives contain Iodine so whenever you dose anything check the contents so you are not doubling up.
And remember....you dont need to add any and your corals will flourish if you keep thr water parameters in line and the quality and flow up to par.

Jay

 

Hi Spngbob

Not all xenia is the pulsing kind. did you buy pulsing xenia? If so, I wold give it a few days as long as it looks OK otherwise

 

My xenia is pitiful! It looked good for a while until something decided it looked tasty and started munching the tentacles. I moved the colony and the nipping stopped, but the entire stalk shrank and looks puny compared to how it used to look. It still opens and closes daily, so I know it's alive..just doesn't seem to want to grow.

The rest of my coral is doing fine, and water parameters are great. I don't have an iodine kit...maybe thats the boost it needs. I'm on a 2 drop of Lugol's a week regimen until I get one.

 

if you look at my gallery you will see what three small xenia can turn into within a short time. I would estimate about 75 to 100.

Lugol's solution every other day.

 

well, ya'll talked me into it. I went by my LFS to pickup some water(needed the jug actually!) and low and behold! he had a nice rock with 2 nice Xenia on it!!!

My ? is , how do you know if its a pulsing? the LFS said it is, but how can I tell?

and is my Reef Supplement #7 (has iodide in it) enough?

thanks for all the great post!

Sco

 

Congrats! I cannot say how you can tell, but if it starts to pulse, you will know! Was it not pulsing in the LFS?

I personally don't add iodide or any stuff like that and mine is doing great so I imagine you should be more that fine with the supplement.