Pumping xenia

[TUSI]

I have a red sea pumping xenia and I am noticing that one head looks like it is burning up. Does any body have any opinion to what is going on. Please help.Thank you

[Tuscaquatics]

Elaborate on "burning up." Do you mean shriveled? Withering? Falling apart? Give some more details. A pic would definitely help.

I have pulsing xenia and, as many others on here can attest, the stuff is harder to kill than it is to keep happy, especially once you get it into a sweet spot of flow and light.

I guess posting your parameters would help also. What kind of lights on them?

[KingwoodMarcia]

Have you tested the water? And again, what type of lighting are you using on your tank?

[P-Daddy]

Furthermore, any I have ever had have moved into where it's happiest, Its a weed

[sbleile]

I have the same thing, so I'm interested to see how this thread develops.

[doomicon]

sometimes they wither, sometimes they melt and sometimes you just can't keep em alive and end up with pink smudges on rocks... then suddenly a year later in the same tank... you can't cut it and give it away fast enough.

[hilgert]

Ah yes...the always fascinating, sometimes frustrating, "weed of the sea". I have had a love/hate relationship with these things for years.

Sometimes they just stop pumping for weeks on end, only to begin for no apparent reason (with me having added nothing different to the tank than normal), apparently responding to some unknown magical force.

When they take off they really take off. I have found that less-than-spectacular water is best for them (which to them is "spectacular"), and I would just cut them out and toss them almost weekly (or try to get the LFS to take them in trade).

They are like little puppies...cute at the beginning...

-Hilgert

[Jstdv8]

mine didnt pump until I left it alone in one spot for at least 3 weeks.
I also had mine turn to jelly when I moved it from its old tank to the new tank (forgotit in the tub for transfer with no heater) smelld awful, put it in the DT anyways and within 2 days it was looking better than ever.
These things do what they want when they want. don't throw it out until you are sure that its dead. withering and all of that happens all the time from a sudden change in flow, a fish aggitates it ect. I wouldnt worry about it too much

[mod0522]

+1 hilgert.... "at the beginning"... Ah so so true. It's funny, non-reefers get the biggest kick out of Xenia and could care less about an $80 killer SPS frag, lol.

[five O]

Xenia is really sensitive to low salinity. Once the Salinity comes back up, so does the Xenia.

[mikersx02]

Grows like a weed in my tank. Its also my highest money maker. There is demand for it in my area- when I harvest them- I stick a head or 2 on frag rocks and put them up on craigslist. Probably made 150 dollars last year on pulsing xenia alone.

[Hoolagan]

Ive had pulsing xenia for awhile and now cant get rid of the stuff. It is wonderfull to watch but yet again takes off like a weed. This stuff likes stable ph and will not pulse if it is off or unstable to a point. Might want to check ph swings at night.

[Lifefreak0007]

I love the stuff. But hate it at the same time. Weed it is but most times its as pretty as a flower.

[captstinky]

If I over do iodine I've noticed tip burn on the xenia. Also a rapid change in parameters: alk, salinity or temp can stress xenia. As long as it is tip burn, the xenia should rebound- if you see the stalk is damaged, I'd personally cut that portion out and dispose of it. Leave a part of the xenia and it'll regrow form a stump- for better or worse

[RokleM]

Unfortunately, there is a lot of garbage out there about this coral. The short of the matter is, there is no definitive information I've seen that determines what it does or doesn't like.

My experience with primarily Red Sea Pink Pulsing Xenia, however similar results have been seen with elongated, etc.

Myth 1:
People claim that it needs either a) dirty or b) clean water.
The answer is, neither are right. I know 3 SPS guys with the MOST pristine tanks possible where it thrives. It also thrives in a refugeium or sump area collecting waste.

Myth 2:
People claim it needs either a) high or b) low light.
Again, both neither right or wrong. I stress tested mine in two of the most extreme opposites available. At about 1600-1700 PAR directly under a 400w MH less than 3" from the surface, it thrived. I recently had it under about 5-10 par of homedepot/lows spiral compact florescent bulbs in my fuge, it thrived.

Myth 3:
It absolutely needs supplements of *insert flavor of the month here*
I can't test it, I don't dose it, period. 4 different salts over the years with different levels of makeup, no manual dosing of iodine, iron or anything of the like... always thriving.

Myth 4:
It needs either a) high flow or b) low flow.
Back to the fuge comment, it was in little to no flow and thriving. It also thrives within inches of a Vortech MP40 on short pulse and/or a Tunze Nanostream at full bore, ravaged with current, thrives.

Myth 5:
It requires a) high or b) low salinity
I had some live rock I was "cooking" with my own strategy for excess of three months (clean water, filtration, no fish, inverts, food, or anything else to add nutrients to the water). I left the concentration relatively low at 1.010, and it grew. I have old rock from my tank that I broke down over a month ago now where it's growing, and it's been at 1.035. Xenia still growing and mushrooms are still alive.

Myth 6:
*insert reason here* caused it to a) melt b) disappear c) relocate d) whatever else.
Truth is, no one really knows why some people can't keep it. I've sold and/or given out close to probably 200 frags over the years of mine. I'd say about 50% have had success. About 25% couldn't get it to take and gave up. About 25% I've given pieces to multiple times (and even received it from multiple sources besides me) and just can't seem to get it to grow and thrive at all.



Just my information based on tests I've run. Take it or leave it, but the vast majority of "it needs *insert data here*" posts are quite frankly unproven, outright guesses, or just plain wrong. Until someone runs real scientific tests, it's all guesswork.

[NCNBilly]

+1 for the above.

It's a mystery. I got a frag of two different varieties. One is doing great, the other split into two - one in the frag system the other in the display. The one in the frag melted in a day or two, the other in the display lasted about 2 weeks then melted. Noticed last week (about 4 weeks now) that what I thought had melted in the frag tank is actually alive and sending up new polyps.

I've failed numerous times with it, but looks like it 'took' this time.

[iamwhatiam52]

+2
I have not seen anything to convince me that anyone knows why it thrives or melts in a particular tank.

As for the experienced reefers who deride newbies for loving xenia, I have said before that if it had never been seen before and someone like ORA got a piece, it would sell for a hundred bucks a head.

[hilgert]

+3
It is a mysterious creature that seems to wax and wane in response to the presence or absence of some magical element. Or, it just does it to irritate reefkeepers. Either way, it is just one of those things that seems to defy explanation.

-Hilgert

[esco]

I believe and have experienced most of what RokleM has been saying... Xenia is truly a mystery coral, and I'm continued to be perplexed by it throughout the years too.

Just recently obtained a frag and put it in one of my tanks where it proceeded to whither away. Tried to save it by putting it into another tank where it recovered miraculously within a week's time. Xenia really does own up to creating a sort of love/hate relationship with hobbyists. Those that want it can't keep it, and those who can keep it don't want it.

All I can say is... one thing that's consistent about Xenia is the horrid stench that it leaves on your finger tips and hands when handling it.

[RokleM]

Originally Posted by esco

All I can say is... one thing that's consistent about Xenia is the horrid stench that it leaves on your finger tips and hands when handling it.

You aren't kidding! I normally hate scented soap, but go looking for the stinkiest scented stuff the wife has I can find!

[dudley moray]

are there star polyps near it ?

[Whaledriver]

If its just part of the Zenia I would look for something bothering it. Look for sweeper stinging cell filaments from corals nearby. I have some that are almost 6 inches long.

My only comment on keeping it alive is having good alkalinity. That is also related to CA, and MG in the water chemistry. I use it as a indicator of water quality. When is not pulsing somethings wrong.

[sbleile]

Any idea what makes it pulse faster, mine pulses only once every 3-4 seconds. The ones at the lfs pulse non stop

[mndfreeze]

I have a question about the xenia...

I was having my brother save me a tiny itty bitty frag of it for my tank when its ready to start adding corals. noobish or not pulsating stuff looks cool.

Does xenia stay on the rock it started on if said rock is its own little island in a sand bed? Or does it spawn and mysteriously pop up in random places all over the tank?

[ctlegacy]

I don't think it spawns randomly, but I've had it spawn and then kind of slide it's way over to somewhere else inthe tank. I have one that has "walked" about 14" in my new 150 gallon tank.