Xenia problems

markus09

markus09

New Member
My Xenia is dying off and I can't figure out why. The rest of my tank is doing great. I was wondering if bristle worms could be the problem? Or maybe my water. The stalks have problems one at a time, within 24hrs a stalk will die, but the rest of the colony is fine. Then the next day or so another stalk will die off. I have seen 1/2" - 1" bristle worms. Here are my numbers which I am still working on to improve.
Amonia .25
Nitrite .05
Nitrate 20
PH 8.4
Alk 3.5 (why is this so high) ??????
Sal 1.023
Please help, the Xenia was doing great then BAM!
Note: I did an extensive clean which stirred up debris and could have spiked Nitrate. Could this have started the end of Xenia?
 
polarbear1

polarbear1

Member
I not really sure why yours are dieing off but Ihave had the same problem sinse i changed my lights. I have pics of it under new bulbs before and now. yes i have noticed that my yellowtangs have been picking at them. It could be something like a bristle worm. I had bristle worms in my 45gal. tank, it seem to bother coral at all but fish kept missing. i found 1 16 inches stregth out.
 
markus09

markus09

New Member
I also have had a fish vanish recently. Maybe I have a big bristle in my tank as well. I have heard from others about the mystery of Xenia dying off with no explanation. I'm just hoping that there is one for my problem.
 
polarbear1

polarbear1

Member
I have xenia's die in my 45 a couple of times. A lot people say what there water quality is but i really dont check mine the tank looks better now then when my friend had it. I do weekly water changes so can try to keep up with water quality, because i am not able to have the tank at my house. Set up at ny sisters.
 
pallan

pallan

Member
Originally Posted by markus09
My Xenia is dying off and I can't figure out why. The rest of my tank is doing great. I was wondering if bristle worms could be the problem? Or maybe my water. The stalks have problems one at a time, within 24hrs a stalk will die, but the rest of the colony is fine. Then the next day or so another stalk will die off. I have seen 1/2" - 1" bristle worms. Here are my numbers which I am still working on to improve.
Amonia .25
Nitrite .05
Nitrate 20
PH 8.4
Alk 3.5 (why is this so high) ??????
Sal 1.023
Please help, the Xenia was doing great then BAM!
Note: I did an extensive clean which stirred up debris and could have spiked Nitrate. Could this have started the end of Xenia?

ID say its the ammonia and the nitrite giving you problems. get those down and xenia should be ok. xenia is not hard to grow but can be tepermental if conditions are not right IMO.
if your showing ammonia and nitrite then your cycling and thats gonna stress out any coral.
hope this helps
as to your Alk this would depend on where your calcium level is at and what/if any supplements you add to the tank. Alk, Calcium. and PH are all tied together
 
markus09

markus09

New Member
thanks for the reply Pallan
Is there a good source of info on the net about exactly how the relationship works between ALK., Calcium and PH and how one effects the other?
Is 3.5 ALK high?
I use Red Sea Marine Lab test kit. Should I be using something different?
I use Iodine, Coral Vital, and C-Balance. I would love to hear reefers opinion on what to use without going overboard.
thanks
 
scsinet

scsinet

Active Member
Originally Posted by markus09
My Xenia is dying off and I can't figure out why. Amonia .25
Nitrite .05
Nitrate 20
PH 8.4
Alk 3.5 (why is this so high) ??????
Sal 1.023
Your ammonia is at toxic levels even to fish. You need to address that immediately. While things may not be dying, any measurable ammonia is unacceptable.
Your nitrite should be 0.0
Your nitrate should be 15 or less
Ph and Alk are fine.
Salinity is too low to keep inverts. It should be 1.025-1.026.
From what you describe, I'd wager that your massive cleaning has damaged the biological filter. I would treat the tank with a half dose of Seachem Prime to KO that ammonia, and watch levels. If ammonia creeps back up again, you are going to need to jumpstart your biological filter with a bacterial culture, such as Bio-Spira.
Ok, all that out of the way, Xenia is for all intents and purposes, an oceanic weed. It enjoys less than optimal water quality. I generally see Xenia do better in tanks that utilize tap water rather than filtered because it enjoys higher than normal phosphate levels. Don't be too upset if you can't keep it, it's just a sign that the junk in the water that they like isn't present.
 
markus09

markus09

New Member
Thanks guys. I will check the link in a few. I am going to raise my salinity to 1.025-6.
I think your right, the massive cleaning did me in. I will battle the Ammonia and watch the levels.
 
fishstix4u

fishstix4u

Member
not for nothing.. but i had all my zoo's close up at one point when i first got them.. i did everything to get them open... nothing.. they looked like they were melting. ended up turning off the heater in a water change.. when i woke up temp went from 79 to 76 zoos where open... now my temp is 77.5 to 77.0 and there open everyday since... just some thought.. zoo's like cool water..
 
markus09

markus09

New Member
great site Pallan, thanks
so I hear so many dif. opinions on TEMP. I guess it's different for each tank. I keep mine at 79-80. Maybe I will try 78. Any other exp. besides FishStix on Temp. and what you have settled on????
thanks
 
sprang

sprang

Member
Two great opinions on coral I have found myself! The zoos do seem to like cooler water, and yes xenia for some reason like higher phos. and nitrates. Mine get ticked off when I do water changes, while the other coral love it. At the end of the week my xenia pulse like mad, until I change the water. just my opinion though?
 
robpsca

robpsca

Member
if given an option. In particular they feed on corals, hydrocorals, gorgonians, and anemones (Is it any surprise that reef-tank owners detest them?). They also have preferences of species within those groups. The effects of predation on certain groups can be substantial we have bristle worms in our tank and they have been eating some of our corals
 
poniegirl

poniegirl

Active Member
Originally Posted by sprang
Two great opinions on coral I have found myself! The zoos do seem to like cooler water, and yes xenia for some reason like higher phos. and nitrates. Mine get ticked off when I do water changes, while the other coral love it. At the end of the week my xenia pulse like mad, until I change the water. just my opinion though?
I completely agree with this. I finally got my nitrates down from 40 to almost nothing and my xenia were the puniest looking things...began spot feeding them and then it occurred to me why I probably didn't have to do that before..Nitrates!
BTW, I am a Sprang also..do you have relatives on the west coast? Not a common name.
 
reefkprz

reefkprz

Active Member
Xenia rely almost completly on photosynthesis, they are about as close as it gets to completly photodependant when it comes to corals. I'm just curious what you are "spot feeding" them
 
reefkprz

reefkprz

Active Member
Originally Posted by sprang
Two great opinions on coral I have found myself! The zoos do seem to like cooler water, and yes xenia for some reason like higher phos. and nitrates. Mine get ticked off when I do water changes, while the other coral love it. At the end of the week my xenia pulse like mad, until I change the water. just my opinion though?
this is because xenia likes stable water conditions, not neccesarily nitrates, when you do your water changes your shifting the parameters of your tank xenia doesnt like that. by the end of the week your tank has restabilized.
 
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