Blue xenia

[drtango]

My 15 year old has decided to become a xenia farmer. Does anyone have, or know where to get, blue xenia? Does this stuff exist? We've got tons of the white/pink red sea variety.

Thanks
John T.

[Gary Majchrzak]

It definitely exists- I used to have it in my reef before the tiger cowrie went in!I got it from John at Marine Oasis,but I don't think he has full time access to this stuff either!

[cperson]

drtango,
I have what some folks call blue xenia, it's a type of elongata xenia. See attached picture. I currently have a tree about 8" tall I can cut a branch from if you're interested.

[cperson]

Let me try attaching the image again.

[Guy]

Cool

[Gary Majchrzak]

Cool stuff,Craig. Mine was different than that kind though.....perhaps there's more than one type of pulsing blue xenia?

[Stoli]

Craig:

That looks just like the Xenia I have in my tank from MO. Wasn't sold as blue though. Just elongata.

Stoli

[cperson]

Gary, I believe there is. Marine Oasis has a poster showing many types on xenia. I have traded some of mine in at MO for store credit and they called it blue pulsing xenia. The other popular type (red sea) they call white xenia.

BTW, how do you like your copperbanded butterfly? I'm thinking of getting a good algae (and valonia) eater. I think they are a good one. My tank is 55 gallons. For fish I have a blue devil damsel, 6-line wrass, 2 tomato clowns, and a bi-color psuedochromis. All have been in my reef for a long time. What's your opinion?

[Gary Majchrzak]

cperson: Sorry- a copperband won't eat any valonia and may not ever eat any algae in any significant amount!I do like mine,though he is a destroyer of sandbed critters and featherdusters!For a real valonia-eater,add a big hungry foxface,or a larger sailfin tang if the system allows it.

[Zmann]

Craig if you have any spaghetti worms you wont have them after the Copperband is added. That's what they like the most. They'll eat every single one in a 55 before they even will touch any other type of food.

[cperson]

Gary and zmann,
Thanks for the input. I guess I'll steer away from a copperband. I had a sailfin (Todd's) but it died maybe 6 weeks ago. It stopped eating, got skinny, and died. A couple weeks later I started noticing a few small valonia bubbles. I assume it was eating them before the got big enough to see.

Hey, this thread was about xenia. Oh well.

[Gary Majchrzak]

Craig, your assumption is CORRECT. I've run experiments involving removing zebrasoma tangs from systems to see what kind of control they are for nuisance algaes.Not many realize what a great job the fish are doing controlling problem stuff like valonia.Make sure to get a foxface {Lo species}if you choose to add a rabbitfish to eat valonia- the Siganus rabbitfish are MUCH more likely to go after corals,such as XENIA.;)

[Zmann]

I bought a Rabbit fish to rid one of my tanks of bubble algae and it ate all my mushrooms. Which really wasn't a bad thing. Best luck I've had with bubble algae is to pop them when their small and the Emeralds or Tangs will eat them. If your worried about spores, I was to till I read an article that said they don't deposit spores when their like BB size just when they get bigger. Anyway it has worked for me.

[cperson]

Z, I agree with your reply about the valonia. There's an active thread called 'bubble algae' in the general reef discussion that on this stuff. I've also read that the bubbles don't get 'spores' until they are larger and sexually mature.