Help with Xenia

bellebelle

bellebelle

Member
Ok, just got a xenia Tues. Came from this site. It's not opening up. Have a 24g aquapod with mh sunpod light designed for the tank. Also got a candy cane coral it's doing great. Have tired placing the xenia near the top and on the sandbed ....no change. I've research where they need strong light and med flow. I'm at a lose any advice would hope. Don't want it to die Thanks
 
t316

t316

Active Member
Seems that some people have no luck with it, and others can't stop it from growing. You have tried a couple of locations so I would say just stop moving it and give it some more time to see what it's going to do. As a note, I started mine down low, but still visible to light, and it spread upward. Not sure if was seeking more light, or if up was just the natural way to spread.
 
jerryatrick

jerryatrick

Active Member
Originally Posted by T316
http:///forum/post/2905948
Seems that some people have no luck with it, and others can't stop it from growing. You have tried a couple of locations so I would say just stop moving it and give it some more time to see what it's going to do. As a note, I started mine down low, but still visible to light, and it spread upward. Not sure if was seeking more light, or if up was just the natural way to spread.
+1 I have seen Xenia grow at an alarming rate for months at a time. I have also seen it not grow for months. Xenia is a poor shipper so it might still be acclimating to your tank. Even when it looks like it is dead there is still a chance that it might come back. The worst thing you can do to a new addition is move it unless of course you originally placed in a bad area.
More flow might be needed as Florida Joe mentioned.
 
makoshrk2

makoshrk2

Member
Whenever I get new soft corals I add a few drops of iodine to the tank. Helps repair damaged tissue in soft corals
 
nycbob

nycbob

Active Member
dont dose or soak it. just leave it alone at the bottom, and eventually it will grow. xenia dosnt need much to grow. even a bit of tissue left can grow into a large colony within weeks.
 
barchtruong

barchtruong

Member
Xenia doesn't like unstable condition. Xenia doesn't like too clean (no phosphate) tanks. Xenia love water flow and light. If your xenia is not looking too good after aweek, your tank might not be a good place for them, cuz if it's the right condition, xenias open up almost right a way once they are in the water and they seem to grow larger every minute.
good luck.
 
pumper

pumper

Member
Give it time. I have 2 species of zenia. If I move it, or frag it, it takes a few days for it to start looking good again. It took nearly a week before it fully acclimated to my system and another week before it started pulsing. My zenia will not tolerate high flow areas, it shrivels up in high flow. Mine seems to break off and seed in other places. I currently have about 8 extra pieces on random rock. I also have heard that it will thrive or die. Some people's systems have no luck with this species. Just leave it alone. Every time you touch it to move it, it irritates it and prolongs its full recovery and acclimation to your system.
 
jackri

jackri

Active Member
Wish I could give you 20 stalks of it... its growing wild in my tank and actually have to start ripping it back from my hard corals. I agree with leaving it alone unless its in a really bad spot. Give it a chance to acclimate... if it pulls through you might just have more than you want ;)
 
mr_x

mr_x

Active Member
don't add iodine unless your test kit tells you your iodine levels are low. it's bad practice to add anything without testing for it.
my xenia do well in all sorts of light, and all sorts of flow. i wouldn't blast it with light right off the bat though. i'd sit it on the sand bed.
btw- you might want to put it in a place that you don't mind dedicating to it. it's eventually going to over power other corals. i'd place it near rocks that are separate from the rest of the rockwork, so it can't go very far.
 
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