any expert strange xenia dying please help???

[thai]

My xenia was doing great i was running only a emperor 400 for my 20 long coral tank I decided to add a sump with a protein skimmer on because my nitrate was high, then my xenia started dying after three days. I figure that i should do a small water change about 5 gallon. Two days later i check my water parameter is nearly perfect nitrite 0 ph 8.2 nitrate 0 ammonia 0 my phosphate is good calcium level was at 415. My xenia looks like it won't make it, but all my zoas and mushroom frogspawn candycane has flourish after my new set up. Pleases help???????

 

[mr.reef]

i have alway heard that xenia love dirty tanks if i run my protein skimmer on all the time my starts to look bad.. so i run my for 2 days a week. so it matters what u like more the good looking corals or ur xenia...

 

[bullitr]

If You Nitrate Is Zero You Need To Feed It Or Your Xenia Will Die .it Need Some Nitrates To Survive. I Had Mine Growing Like Weeds Before.now That The Tank Mature And Have Close To Perfect Parameter It Dies .its A Good Indicator The You Ready For Sps... If You Have The Necessary Lighthing.imo

 

[thai]

Originally Posted by bullitr
http:///forum/post/3053810
If You Nitrate Is Zero You Need To Feed It Or Your Xenia Will Die .it Need Some Nitrates To Survive. I Had Mine Growing Like Weeds Before.now That The Tank Mature And Have Close To Perfect Parameter It Dies .its A Good Indicator The You Ready For Sps... If You Have The Necessary Lighthing.imo
What would you feed them i have misis shrimp brine shimp any suggestion would help?
I only have a t5 2x39 24inch bulbs one blue one white i am thinking to buy another one i am wondering if another fixture will be to much for the coral my lfs said it might fry them if it gets to much lighting on my soft coral and mushroom. Oh by the way your tank is beautify....

 

[thai]

Originally Posted by MR.reef
http:///forum/post/3053793
i have alway heard that xenia love dirty tanks if i run my protein skimmer on all the time my starts to look bad.. so i run my for 2 days a week. so it matters what u like more the good looking corals or ur xenia...
I have to agree with the dirty water my trate was around 40 to 80 the xenia looks perfect but the others didn't look good thats the reason why i upgrade.
Xenia was one of my favorite coral to begin with is fasinating when it is pulsing in and out. I would hate to lose them do you spot feed them or feed them period.

 

[mr.reef]

i have some stuff called reef chili that i feed all my corals and it helps but that maybe once a month... if that..

 

[natclanwy]

Xenia is photosynthetic and photosynthesis will provide most of the food for the coral and unless someone has made a new discovery Xenia does not feed on any known foods and is thought to absorb dissolved nutrients directly from the water.
As far as water being too clean for Xenia I don't believe that is an issue, while it may thrive in dirtier tanks I can attest from my own experience and several other tanks here in town that Xenia can thrive in extremely clean SPS tanks.
Xenia is one of those corals that is kind of a mystery, some people can't keep at all and in other peoples tanks it grows so fast its considered a nuisance coral. I myself have had it both ways my original colony thrived at first and then slowly started deteriorating one day and over the next couple of months or so the entire colony died off. Tried it again a few months later and it has been growing so fast ever since that I end up throwing handfuls of it away every couple of months or so.

 

[fishyfun2]

I am a new hobbiest, my tank is only 6 months old. I had a similar issue with pulsing xenia. I bought a very small colony and within 3-4 weeks it had split many times and I ended up with like 6 of them. They looked gorgeous then one day were all shrunk down like they do at night, and really never came back from that. The other coral I had at the time was fine. My nitrates were reading zero or 0.1 ppm, but I'm sure that was masked by the diatom bloom I was having. I'm sure there were nitrates in there, so I don't think that was an issue. I got the same advice that Natclanwy said, it's hit and miss, and there is not really an explanation. I'm down to 2 shrinky-dink colonies now and the others have just wilted away or gotten tossed with a water change (the REALLY sad looking ones

) I think I'll try them again someday though. They do bring a lot of movement to the tank and are pretty.