question about my xenia

[a&m aggie 04']

What kind of xenia is this?? Pom Pom
When i 1st got it about 3 months ago it was only one stalk, now its 3 but seems to not be growing as fast as it used to.
Ive heard of ppls xenia taking over a tank, does this species not grow as fast as others?
Do i need to be feeding it directly, im putting phytoplex in my tank should i be doing something different??
Thanks,
Mark

 

[bang guy]

Looks like Red-Sea Xenia.

 

[mldamsel]

looks like red sea

 

[yellowfin]

I have this kind of Xenia and yes it will take over a tank.. You do not need to feed directly or at all for that matter. it gets all it needs from the water changes.. IMO...There are some that do not grow as fast... I have three types. The one you show and the Brown Elongata, and a bright white Xenia when it pusles the figers twist as if you bring your fingers together with a twisting motion... This particular type. to me Does not grow and spread like the others.. Just in thick stocks...
the one you show.Might be this particular type.. DO your fingers twist when the are pulsing??? If not it would seem that they are the common..Type..

 

[chinnyr]

I have the same one and it does not spread at all either.It looks more like yours.Like a little bush.I just upgraded my lights and moved things around a bit,and they have been pulsing like crazy.Before they seemed kinda slow.I'm hoping there is "new life" in them so to speak and they will start to spread.

 

[a&m aggie 04']

mines pulsing really well, just doesnt grow like i thought it would. It was only one stalk when i got it, now its 3. Come to think of it, this fish store i got it from has a few other colonies and they arent that big either. Maybe just takes a while, thanks for the comments

 

[nm reef]

I'm not a "expert" on xenia but from what I understand nearly any type can grow fairly rapid given the proper conditions. I have what looks like the same type as yours. When I added it there was a single stalk...for a few months it grew little...then it just took off and spread rapidly for a few months. The single stalk became 10-12 and it grew up the rock work towards the light. But eventually I tricked it into staying in one spot...its surrounded by a couple of aggressive LPS corals. It still is in good conditions and appears healthy...but there is no place for it to spread futher than it already has....its neighbors just don't allow it. Plus I've taken about 10 frags of the xenia back to the LFS where I purchased it....great source of credit on purchases...and the folks at the LFS are always pleased to get some local fragged corals for re-sale.
For what its worth my xenia seem to prefer moderate lighting and a moderate current. They've never really responded to direct feeding. To frag them I just place a piece of rubble amongst the colony and in a few weeks there will be new growth on the rubble...then I just remove the rubble and transport back to the place they came from. I have noticied that they appear to spread more for a few weeks after a 20% water change...maybe replenishing the trace elements have a positive effect on growth rates.