xenia receding /dying continue

[bullitr]

i have multiple colonies of xenias mostly red sea and regular pom pom . my water parameter are nearly perfect except for nitrate nearly zero i try to raise it up a little bit to 5 ( xenias and clams loves nitrate) i have some heavy heavy bioload with 11 large tangs .i recently run a refugium to start SPS AGAIN but i loves my xenias they are great for me, i used to make it my macro algae b4 and have great success now that my water is perfect for sps and my xenias continue to die . i run a carbon for the first time to stop the chemical welfare if there is one going on . i will but some iodine today see if it helps . any suggestions?thank you

 

[natclanwy]

I don't know that there is any evidence to show that xenia like nitrates, I have zero nitrates in my tank and xenia does well, and I know several others that successfully keep xenia in tanks that have zero nitrates. Xenia seems to be very tempermentle for some people, in fact a couple years ago I had a colony that was spreading like mad then all of a sudden it started receding until it finally disapeared never did find out what the cause was. Added another colony from the same parent colony a couple months later and it is still doing fine to this day

What are your other parameters?

 

[joebob7]

I also had a fairly large colony of Xenia that, a few months ago, turned blue- purple on the stalks, and a wierd almost glow-in-the-dark green on the polyps, and started melting away. AFter a few weeks it stopped and about half came back like they were before.
I dont know why this happened but your Xenia may just have a few stalks die before it comes back

 

[socal57che]

Xenia seems to be funny like that. I've heard of colonies that have thrived for years just up and dying off in a matter of weeks with no change in water parameters. Some people can't keep it at all, while others can't give it away fast enough. I've heard that xenia likes nitrates, too, but I have yet to see any real proof. It's inconsistancy in a pristine environment leaves little room for a control group. Mine took off like a rocket when I first got it. Now it's just staying neutral. No major growth, no reduction (other than the stalks murdered by my GSP), and seems content to wave at me to let me know it's still there.

 

[bullitr]

funny thing is my gsp won't spread in my tank but my i had large colony of sps then and growing fast and also my xenias but not as good as the parameter i have right now.

 

[reefkprz]

IME xenia will for some unknown reason die off to almost nothing then resurge in growth. I am not sure why it does it but have witnessed it in my tank a couple times.

 

[bullitr]

will it come back?

 

[reefkprz]

it could