xenia shriveling and dying...

i hate it when anything shrivels up -- especially when it's a coral frag I procured from a well-known public aquarium. The xenia I've had since this fall have been shriveling up and dying, one colony at a time. My largest (and last) colony is on it's way out. I had hoped that better flow and lights and more religious water changes and dosing various good stuff would help, but no dice. The xenia shrivels and the main stalk becomes white and bumpy-looking in texture. Any ideas of what's going on and how I can fix it? All of the other corals and critters in the tank are doing just fine, thank goodness.

 

What is the temperature of your tank water?
Are you dosing Iodine?
Unfortunately, many times, Xenia will die off and to no understanding as to why! The good thing however, is that as quick as it dies, it can come back and grow...
Maybe it is a direct result of your doing excessive water changes...or too little light, or even the collaboration of doing to much to soon!
Sorry to hear about your Xenia loss.
I know last March when I went on vacation, my Xenia was doing awesome. When I got home a week and a half later, they were not healthy, as evident by the color variance and their becoming smaller and also not pulsing. I did the same things as you did to try to rectify the problem! After several attempts of saving my Xenia colonies, I noticed that I had salt creep on the protective glass cover of my halide pendant! So, after cleaning the cover with vinegar, a few days later and all was back to normal as they all rebounded and have since grown more.
Best of luck and hope that your last Xenia makes it to regenerate for ya!

 

Good luck!

 

Thanks for the input and support. I'm getting back on a regular schedule of Iodine dosing and I just replaced my year-old 50/50 PC bulb with a new 10,000K PC bulb. I'll keep an eye on things...and if not I'll just have to find another frag and try it again...

 

yup sometimes I too just don't get xenia.... I have a 20gal prop tank w/ pom pom and gold Xenia that grow like crazy under 150w 20k MH but in the main tank under 150w 14k they look weak and slowly die off... and both tanks circulate the same water. My friend (who I got my first Xenia frag from) runs 250w 10 k MH and his Xenia is out of control!.... go figure

 

I WAS IN THE POOL!

Sorry....Seinfeld quote...sorry sorry

 

What is your salinity at? Xenia do better when the sg is 1.024-1.026. I had problems with my xenia frags for the longest time...shriveling up and going a dark purple in colour. I changed my salinity, moved them to the top of the tank, put them in a moderate flow area and started adding reef plus by seachem once a week. Since I did that they have been happy and spreading like wild fire. What are your perameters at? Xenia like a little bit of nitrates as well.

 

Mine are under a 250w 10K and are in a moderate flow area. --- they get an almost weekly "pruning" to keep them contained. Can easily see how they can get to be a "weed" in one's tank.

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yeah i think you should check your iodine...also nitrates are a plus for xenia,if you want to keep them you have to slow down on the water changes for at least until they start spreading.after that you will hate them because they are a pest.....i bought 1 stalk and now i have a tank full of it shading all my acro!....i kill them and give some away but the rest i have to destroy...