PDA

View Full Version : Clownfish driving a Xenia to death!


Crazed
07/07/2010, 06:57 PM
Hey guys,

I really need some help here. For about a month, my Xenia has been thriving and doing great. He just recently divided from one stalk into two stalks. He has been pulsing consistently.

However, for the past two days, my clownfish have really been "picking" on him. He's not yet moved entirely off of his frag plug, so I had him wedged in a rock until he moved on his own. The clownfish have knocked it onto the sand twice.

This afternoon when I came back, the second stalk was missing all of its heads. On closer inspection, I saw some of the polyps sticking to the gravel or algae around the tank. My only conclusion is that either they're ejecting from the colony out of stress, or the clownfish are eating them.

What in the world should I do? Is he going to make it? He's very tightly retracted at the moment, although his original stalk is still intact. Why are the clowns going after it so much? They just started this a couple days ago, and he's been in the tank for a month. I couldn't tell exactly what they were doing, but they were getting right into the colony and messing around.

Please let me know so I can save this beautiful coral. He was doing so incredibly awesome and now I don't even know if he's going to make it, all because of two overzealous clowns. Even as I speak, they are poking around him and harassing him even though he is fully retracted.

Could it be the clowns are trying to use the Xenia as a host and are inadvertently knocking it over?

Thanks. :)

Fishamatank
07/07/2010, 07:17 PM
I bet they are trying to be hosted by it. I wish something would keep my xenia in check. I bet it will be fine, the stuff grows like a weed.

Crazed
07/07/2010, 07:44 PM
I suppose he could regenerate, but I need to try to fix the issue of the pestering first. Half of him is dead already. Perhaps I should put him into the sump to protect him for a couple days? I can't keep him in there forever, though, so I need some kind of solution.

balto777
07/07/2010, 08:17 PM
What should you do?

Hope and pray that the clownfish are killing it.

I am just kidding, but be warned that I had to completely tear down a 20g and redo it with new liverock because my tank was overrun with pulsing xenia that I could not get rid of. I was puling out handfuls once a month trying to keep it in check.

I love the stuff if it can be kept to a single spot.

dannyd711
07/09/2010, 05:16 PM
Im pretty sure its trying to host it. My clowns dont leave my xenias. they have even layed inbetween them.

B-Willz
07/09/2010, 05:23 PM
I'll give you $500 for the clown. Damn xenia!!!