Xenia Questions

OKay, my xenia is located in around middle elevation of the tank. I guess I will move them down.

Oh and I heard they grow very fast. Is this true? If so how fast do they grow?

 

80 is not a big deal but watch the 83.. That is a bit high IMO.. I know I'm picky but I start to worry if mine hits 80.. now I know reefs hit 80 but I have never had an issue at 78-79. others may say differently.

 

Mine is always between 77-79. Even that is more of a temp swing than I really want but even in nature there are larger variants in temp. Just keep an eye on them for a little while.

 

Need to get an aqua controller!! in the winter mine rarly swings .4 degrees! Summer it swings more with my echaust fan and surface fans kicking on and off.


Mkizla - are you able to turn your heater down or is it already down.. How big is this tank. I worry that at 83 you are going to have some troubles with corals.. Most corals don't like it that warm.

 

I dont own a heater at the moment, and planning on getting it when weather gets cold.
My tank is 29 gallon

 

Ah, I have a 29g as well. I need a bigger tank

 

I keep mine at 80. Occasionally my tank has jumped to 84 and I never saw a problem. They keep pulsing away. I have the red sea variety. I wouldn't worry too much about the lighting. Mine grow in the middle of the tank with T5s.

Either one of two things will happen over time. They will either slowly melt away and shrink to nothing or overrun your tank. IME. My first Xenia literally shrunk until they disappeared. I think my tank was too immature when I added them. Place them on the top of a large solitary rock. They will cover that rock and won't spread down the rock. They spread up and out. If you keep it contained to that rock island they won't overtake your tank. Just make sure they can't lean over and reach another rock. They sprout little feet on their stalks and they will grab another rock.

As for the plugs. If it is the white ceramic type with the leg on the bottom just shove the leg in a hole in your rock. If you can't find a good place you can break the leg off of the disc. Use one pair of pliers to grip the disc and another pair to grap the leg and snap it off. You can then glue it with reef epoxy or superglue gel. I've had better luck with the epoxy. They will eventually cover the disc. Sometimes they will actually walk off the disc once their legs attach someplace else.

Good luck.

 

I hear xenia are very hardy corals. What could cause them to shrink and die off?
Temp?

 

I'm not sure what caused them to die initially. They were one of the first corals I added so maybe the tank wasn't mature enough. I've read that some people just don't have luck with them. They'll either thrive or die. Hopefully they will thrive for you. You need to be careful what you wish for though because they can take over your tank.

 

ah..geez that sounds painful. What can I do if they do over infest my tank?