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View Full Version : Has this ever happened to your Xenia?


ERICinFL
03/06/2007, 07:12 PM
I've got some PomPom Xenia that was growing like a weed for quite a while. One day, it started to shrink up and wouldn't open. Gradually, it began to recede and eventually seemed to just melt away. Well, about two weeks ago, I noticed a few little pumping arms in the area that it was in. Now it seems like the Xenia is making a come back after two or three months of essintially being gone. Anyone else ever have this happen and if so, why does it do this?

GreyHawk1968
03/06/2007, 10:15 PM
Yes it's done it to me before.
No I have no clue why.
Mine started out as a small rock with three stalks on it. Then they "died" off. A couple weeks later I noticed little ones returning. Now I have colonies of it.

kathainbowen
03/08/2007, 07:11 PM
This is actually fairly normal behavior for many Xenia species. In the wild, they grow like crazy, almost exploding, it seems, out from the mother colony. This is usually in the spring. Then, towards the summer, they die off, as whole colonies crash. No one is entirely certain why this occurs. In the home aquaria, where conditions are more sustainable, colonies may grow and spread for 2-3 years before ever exhibiting anything at all like a crash or meltdown. Various techniques have been tried to mimic natural environments in an attempt to avoid these seemingly regular (although, rather irregular in the home aquarium), however, it still seems like colonies will melt down or crash at random. =/

What to do in the event of a colony crash? Maintain your water quality, noting that larger colonies can most certainly turn tanks, especially smaller tanks, putrid with rotting matter. Keep the remaining polyps and stalks as clear of decaying matter as possibly by gently blowing or wafting the dying polyps away. And, above all else, cross your fingers.

G'luck!