Pulsing Xenia Propagation Experiment
- Thread starter mudplayerx
- Start date
mudplayerx
Active Member
I use regular ole scissors to cut my xenia. Like Big said, just cut the stalk as close as you can to the base. You can cut individual tentacles off as well but mine take forever to grow if I frag them that way.
1journeyman
Active Member
Awesome info. Thanks Mud.
someday I too shall be conducting experiments in my tank.
someday I too shall be conducting experiments in my tank.
bluelagoon
Member
i had no idea you could do that w/ xenias...my mom has a ton in her tank, grew like wildfire, she did nothing to them. so all you have to do is cut the top part off, and make that stay somewhere, and more of the pulsing part will grow off the stem you cut? that's wierd, but when i get my salinity down, i'll try that so i can take them to my lfs..
mudplayerx
Active Member
I'll get some pics asap. My camera stinks, but I can borrow my girlfriend's. Make sure if you guys frag your xenia that you leave only about 0.5" to 1" stuck to the rock. I left more than that once (about 2.5 inches) and it atrophied and eventually died.
As far as the netting, you are going to laugh. I was lazy and didnt feel like going to the store so I just cut the netting out of my fish net and used that. I think any plastic/nylon netting will work. Keep in mind that you want the diameter of the holes in the net large enough to let water flow in and out easily, but small enoguh to prevent the xenia from floating out/sticking entire tentacles out.
PS- If anyone is in the Clarksville, TN area, I have tons of xenia growing that I'd like to trade or sell. If you prefer to buy rather than trade, I will do $10 per large stalk. I'm not being greedy, I'm just a broke college student and the funds would be 100% invested right back into my tank
As far as the netting, you are going to laugh. I was lazy and didnt feel like going to the store so I just cut the netting out of my fish net and used that. I think any plastic/nylon netting will work. Keep in mind that you want the diameter of the holes in the net large enough to let water flow in and out easily, but small enoguh to prevent the xenia from floating out/sticking entire tentacles out.
PS- If anyone is in the Clarksville, TN area, I have tons of xenia growing that I'd like to trade or sell. If you prefer to buy rather than trade, I will do $10 per large stalk. I'm not being greedy, I'm just a broke college student and the funds would be 100% invested right back into my tank
goulding.c
Member
I want to cut mine but my wife is nervous. Also. If the main stalk is 3 inches tall but is reatteched up high to another rock. Should I just cut to trunk between the two rocks? Also what is best to cut it with. Razor blade?
CG
CG
O
oreo12
Guest
My xenia looks sick
mudplayerx
Active Member
I recommend against cutting the xenia when it is attached to two different rocks. It is going to split anyways (just give it time), plus I have had poor results when doing that.
Oreo, can you get a closer pic of your xenia? It is hard to tell what is gonig on in those pics. You can upload them full size at photobucket and use the IMG html tags to display them here full size.
Oreo, can you get a closer pic of your xenia? It is hard to tell what is gonig on in those pics. You can upload them full size at photobucket and use the IMG html tags to display them here full size.
feixjai
Active Member
hey mudplayer very ncie post but im still kind of confused. how do you do the net trick? do you get a peice of rock and wrap the netting over the rock and use the rubberband to hold the netting down and then putting the xenia's stlk between the holes of the net? anyways when you mentions that you should cut at least 0.5" to 1" my xenias are only about 1 inch big. what should i do about that. i really like these corals and would love to have more. however right now my lights are off and at the bottom of the xenias its like a huge blob and they suddenly stoped pusling. its in the middle of my 24 nano cube which is 2x36 watt pcs. the lfs said my lights were good enough. could it be that my kenya tree stung it? i had to move both of them because they were touching each other.
snailheave
Active Member
i have a colt coral which has grown 20% since its arrival a month or so ago. it has even developed a new branch.
i am thinking about the toothpick propagation method, any tips?
i am thinking about the toothpick propagation method, any tips?
tliss
Member
OK, tried the net method on a small frag that I cut off what looks like a dying piece of Xenia and nothing. The frag looks OK, but it just will not attach itself to the rubble that I netted it with. It has been about a week and every time I check it it slides right off of the rock.
Also, for some reason I have one group of xenia that is in real good light, but it appears to be on its way out. It is purple now and its "foot" is turning white; the thing barely opens up, yet my other pieces are doing great. This is a piece that decided to move from the rock it came on to a higher rock and it is now on it's way out. I cut the small frag from this thing since it was just hanging in space. Any suggestions on what I can do to hopefully save this piece?
Tom
Also, for some reason I have one group of xenia that is in real good light, but it appears to be on its way out. It is purple now and its "foot" is turning white; the thing barely opens up, yet my other pieces are doing great. This is a piece that decided to move from the rock it came on to a higher rock and it is now on it's way out. I cut the small frag from this thing since it was just hanging in space. Any suggestions on what I can do to hopefully save this piece?
Tom
O
oreo12
Guest
maybe this one will show what it looks like is there atype that is hard to keep? maybe that is what I got.
mudplayerx
Active Member
Originally Posted by feixjai
hey mudplayer very ncie post but im still kind of confused. how do you do the net trick? do you get a peice of rock and wrap the netting over the rock and use the rubberband to hold the netting down and then putting the xenia's stlk between the holes of the net? anyways when you mentions that you should cut at least 0.5" to 1" my xenias are only about 1 inch big. what should i do about that. i really like these corals and would love to have more. however right now my lights are off and at the bottom of the xenias its like a huge blob and they suddenly stoped pusling. its in the middle of my 24 nano cube which is 2x36 watt pcs. the lfs said my lights were good enough. could it be that my kenya tree stung it? i had to move both of them because they were touching each other.
Although there are a variety of xenia species...it sounds to me as if your xenia are still juveniles. I would wait until they get larger before attempting to frag them.
Once you cut them, you place them on a piece of live rock, drape the net over them, then secure the net to the rock with the rubberband
It is possible your xenia was stung. However, keep in mind that xenia may stop pulsing for no apparent reason...sometimes for days. It is best not to ever let different species of corals touch each other. In fact, the best thing to do is have a 6 inch buffer zone for each coral to let them grow and extend their sweeper tentacles if applicable.
hey mudplayer very ncie post but im still kind of confused. how do you do the net trick? do you get a peice of rock and wrap the netting over the rock and use the rubberband to hold the netting down and then putting the xenia's stlk between the holes of the net? anyways when you mentions that you should cut at least 0.5" to 1" my xenias are only about 1 inch big. what should i do about that. i really like these corals and would love to have more. however right now my lights are off and at the bottom of the xenias its like a huge blob and they suddenly stoped pusling. its in the middle of my 24 nano cube which is 2x36 watt pcs. the lfs said my lights were good enough. could it be that my kenya tree stung it? i had to move both of them because they were touching each other.
Although there are a variety of xenia species...it sounds to me as if your xenia are still juveniles. I would wait until they get larger before attempting to frag them.
Once you cut them, you place them on a piece of live rock, drape the net over them, then secure the net to the rock with the rubberband
It is possible your xenia was stung. However, keep in mind that xenia may stop pulsing for no apparent reason...sometimes for days. It is best not to ever let different species of corals touch each other. In fact, the best thing to do is have a 6 inch buffer zone for each coral to let them grow and extend their sweeper tentacles if applicable.
mudplayerx
Active Member
Originally Posted by tliss
OK, tried the net method on a small frag that I cut off what looks like a dying piece of Xenia and nothing. The frag looks OK, but it just will not attach itself to the rubble that I netted it with. It has been about a week and every time I check it it slides right off of the rock.
Also, for some reason I have one group of xenia that is in real good light, but it appears to be on its way out. It is purple now and its "foot" is turning white; the thing barely opens up, yet my other pieces are doing great. This is a piece that decided to move from the rock it came on to a higher rock and it is now on it's way out. I cut the small frag from this thing since it was just hanging in space. Any suggestions on what I can do to hopefully save this piece?
Tom
You have to make sure that the "stalk" of the xenia you fragged is touching the live rock. If your netting is too loose and the thing flops around, it generally wont stick. It has to be in place, with the same potion of the stalk touching the live rock consistantly. I have had one attach within 24 hours this way.
The one xenia frag that is not doing well is probably in an area where the lighting or the water flow is unsuitable. I had something similar happen where one frag was really dark compared to the rest...skinny as well. I moved it to an area of lesser flow and now its spreading again.
When you say you "moved" the xenia, do you mean that you moved the entire rock it was attached to, or you cut it and moved it?
I have the occasional frag that just doesn't make it. It happens sometimes. I hope that you can save this one. Keep in mind that xenia doesn't tolerate instable or poor water conditions at all. It is usually one of the first corals to die in these scenarios.
OK, tried the net method on a small frag that I cut off what looks like a dying piece of Xenia and nothing. The frag looks OK, but it just will not attach itself to the rubble that I netted it with. It has been about a week and every time I check it it slides right off of the rock.
Also, for some reason I have one group of xenia that is in real good light, but it appears to be on its way out. It is purple now and its "foot" is turning white; the thing barely opens up, yet my other pieces are doing great. This is a piece that decided to move from the rock it came on to a higher rock and it is now on it's way out. I cut the small frag from this thing since it was just hanging in space. Any suggestions on what I can do to hopefully save this piece?
Tom
You have to make sure that the "stalk" of the xenia you fragged is touching the live rock. If your netting is too loose and the thing flops around, it generally wont stick. It has to be in place, with the same potion of the stalk touching the live rock consistantly. I have had one attach within 24 hours this way.
The one xenia frag that is not doing well is probably in an area where the lighting or the water flow is unsuitable. I had something similar happen where one frag was really dark compared to the rest...skinny as well. I moved it to an area of lesser flow and now its spreading again.
When you say you "moved" the xenia, do you mean that you moved the entire rock it was attached to, or you cut it and moved it?
I have the occasional frag that just doesn't make it. It happens sometimes. I hope that you can save this one. Keep in mind that xenia doesn't tolerate instable or poor water conditions at all. It is usually one of the first corals to die in these scenarios.
mudplayerx
Active Member
Originally Posted by oreo12
maybe this one will show what it looks like is there atype that is hard to keep? maybe that is what I got.
I'm not sure which kind that is oreo, but it doesn't look fully grown. Someone please correct me if I am wrong.
maybe this one will show what it looks like is there atype that is hard to keep? maybe that is what I got.
I'm not sure which kind that is oreo, but it doesn't look fully grown. Someone please correct me if I am wrong.
O
oreo12
Guest
When I first got it it had long pulsating heads. then it looked to have started to split and sriveled to this stage I have done water ganges 20% every other day brought my nitrates done to 0 from 30 but this has not helped out as of yet. I think I saw one on a web site one time that said it was a hard one to keep alive. Maybe the store just thought it was xeina since it pulsed. All my other corals are doing great. I have 130 watt pc lighting on a 29 gal tank with the corals. I have a 75 fish only tank as well.
mudplayerx
Active Member
It definately looks like a xenia to me. You mentioned a nitrate reading of 30. Were you having nitrate problems earlier? What do you think happened to cause your nitrates to spike? Are you having difficulty keeping your water parameters stable? Tell me all your water readings, your flow rate, temperature, everything if ya can.
O
oreo12
Guest
Originally Posted by mudplayerx
It definately looks like a xenia to me. You mentioned a nitrate reading of 30. Were you having nitrate problems earlier? What do you think happened to cause your nitrates to spike? Are you having difficulty keeping your water parameters stable? Tell me all your water readings, your flow rate, temperature, everything if ya can.
pc 25
am 0
nitrite 0
nitrate o
ph 8.3
temp 78
The nitriate leveal was high from not doing enough water changes. was doing 5 gals every 3 weeks I am now going to try and do that weekly and see how that work out.
It definately looks like a xenia to me. You mentioned a nitrate reading of 30. Were you having nitrate problems earlier? What do you think happened to cause your nitrates to spike? Are you having difficulty keeping your water parameters stable? Tell me all your water readings, your flow rate, temperature, everything if ya can.
pc 25
am 0
nitrite 0
nitrate o
ph 8.3
temp 78
The nitriate leveal was high from not doing enough water changes. was doing 5 gals every 3 weeks I am now going to try and do that weekly and see how that work out.