Xenia as a water condition indicator

[Bri Guy]

Ive read a lot about people saying that xenia is a good water condition indicator. Could somebody elaborate, what exactly is your xenia doing when what levels are off.

Ive read that when iodine is low or pH is low they close up.?

What are everybodys findings.

Thankx

[Bebo77]

i know that xenia does not do well in tanks that have very low levels of phosphates...

[LockeOak]

Pulsing xenia in my tank lose their pulsing activity when the pH falls below (roughly) 8.0. Note: they have to have sufficient lighting AND pH to pulse; in my tank the well-lit ones pulse while small bits in shaded areas do not pulse.

[james37128]

I did a search of xenia falls and it took me to this thread. I was wondering if anyone else has a fairly big stalk of xenia and it just falls over at night, kinda like a tree that gets stuck by lightning is the only way i can describe it/ So does anyone know if xenia falling over means something is wrong? All my parameters are good as far as i can test...

[seapug]

yeah, if your water quality sucks Xenia will do great....just kidding.

Actually, it does grow rampantly in nutrient rich tanks, but as others said, low ph and weak lighting will make it less "happy."

[Bri Guy]

The reason I started this thread, is because my xenia wasn't looking good, now it has almost totally shrunk/puckered up. Everything else in my system looks good (40+ other corals) Can't quite figure out whats wrong with the xenia (it is in lower light, but its been under that light for a year w/o problems)

Does anybody else know what there xenia is telling them?

Ive read about xenia just spontaneously dying, any truth to that?

[stingythingy45]

Well,for WIW I have just put xenia in my tank about a month ago.
I started with a few branches from a fellow reefer that I tooth picked and rubber banded to LR rubble.It's done great and stuck well to the rubles and the rubble was epoxied to a LR that is seperated to one corner from the other LR.I'm hoping to somewhat contain it's growth if it goes wild like some reefers say.
And yes,mine will wilt down like a tree hit by lightning if I shut the powerheads off.lol
Anyways,lately I've noticed that the tips of the hands were turning white and shriveling on a a few.I thought it might be a fish possibly nibbling on them.But,now i'm not so sure about that.
I've heard from my local reefer club that sometime they'll just melt down for no reason.Some believe it's how they propagate.I'm going to take a gamble and not run PURA pads anymore in the HOB.The tank is only 3 months old and I seem to have beaten the cyano outbreak that occured.I'll be watching this thread also.
Sorry I couldn't really be of any real help with your problem...

[james37128]

thanks stingy, i was beginning to think it was just mine.

[crabbejoe]

Bri, the xenia you gave me that I thought was dead for months, has started to grow back! And I've read that they do die off periodically and then grow back. Aquarium Fish Magazine did an article on it (last year I think). They don't like overly warm temperatures.

[Brian24]

When water conditions are not pristine Xenia's will show it. They will stop pulsating at a rapid rate.

[Bri Guy]

Originally posted by Brian24
When water conditions are not pristine Xenia's will show it. They will stop pulsating at a rapid rate.

Thankx for an answer, but that is the same vague thing Ive heard from the start, when what parameter is not pristine?? I realize when things are out of wack xenia doesn't do well, but Im trying to figure out Exactly how to fix the probem, and differ a problem vs xenias tendency to just die off. What causes What?

[.::Jun77::.]

briguy, my experience in xenia is they dont like too much direct flow( like most softies) youll know it is getting more than enough flow if the stalks is like getting saggy, or like if theres a bubble-like lump inside the stalk thus making it look shorter.

also med to high light is good, i think fragging the old stalks will help to avoid the unexplained and mysterious xenia deaths. good luck.

[Bri Guy]

Well, heres what my silver branching pulsing xenia looks like right now...



Its been on a downward spiral for over a week now, it used to be at least 3x that size, no lighting change, no system change??

I brought this frag up higher towards the light, and it now has a little more flow, where before it was very little flow.

Im not even a huge fan of xenia, its not in my show tank, its just in the sump for nutrient export, and I give it to local reefers, but I still want to figure out why? or whats going on?

Funny/odd thing is that I have pom pom xenia, and it looks fine??

[jmkarcz]

Never fear, If it dies I'll give you more...

Mine will do that if I let my alk climb to high or low, then snap it back too fast.

Also, your dealing with a coral wild card Bri... I've seen Xenia grow gangbusters in tanks for years, then suddenly go into decline and almost die out all together... 9 months to a year ago mine was all but gone on the left side, but thriving on the right? go figure... now it's the reverse, it's thriving on the left but almost gone on the right... these were two different strains....or varieties.

Seriously, use a different set of corals for an indicator... like a leather, or something. Rev. Davis is always preaching that... he'd be a good one to talk to... it helps to diversify... it's difficult to "read" your tank with 7 small coral frags.

J


Besides the smell makes me gag.

photo ref

[dendro982]

My 2 cents, applicable only to the white pulsing xenia, pom-pom:

I keep it in all lighted tanks as an alkalinity and toxins indicator (although cynarina is more sensitive to everything, my impression, but too big).

When alkalinity drops below 7 dKH (happened few times), xenia movements became lethargic. Srinked, when toxins were in the water.

Still pulses:
- at pH 7.8
- NO3 80 ppm and PO4 1ppm
- Ca 360-460 ppm
- when iodine was never added, water changes only,
- what else?
I'm not keeping such parameters on purpose

Water flow:
the best growth, thick short stalks, many new stalks rooting - with flow around it, max tried 25x tank volumes per hr. Min - flow trough, the branches are not moving. If in the stream, even below 150 gph, - becomes leggy.

Color darkens in the dirty tanks (at least it seems so).

Light:
slowest growth was under 18W 50-50 PC for 6 g tank, fastest - in 7" below the 55W 10,000 PC, high nutrients tanks. Have xenia under direct sunlight too, but less nitrates and phosphates - same rate of growth (by eyeballing ).

Tried xenia refugium:
moved it from the 18W (50-50 PC, 6g) tank to connected to it shallow container, same water is circulating through, only different flow pattern. The light as recommended by Melev's Reef for refugiums, fluorescent flood light with mirror side coating, 16W of lower Kelvinage (?) (2,900 K or 4300K - have to check) for 4g shallow container - stopped to grow, become darker, more contracted, but still pulsing.

I have suspicion, that at some point it was eaten by the fish - to the middle of the stalk - neighborly connected xenia continued to be fully open and pulsing. New polyps were grown pretty fast, just like new.

Once become wilted with very dark slimy coating, like mould, and dying. Siphoned away all dark slime coat (by baster), few times a day, all normalized in a few days.

Ah, and ruptured during the shipping xenia restored reasonably fast too, in 5g QT under 27W 6,500K CFL from hardware store, 20+x flow.

I would vote for keeping it as a general indicator, if some corals are feeling bad and xenia is good - things are not too bad in the tank.

Hope, that helps.
PS: Cynarina is better for a purpose, but 8" in diameter.

[Bri Guy]

Thankx alot dendro!! that was a very informative post!

[dendro982]

That's what we are here for!

[Mac Inger]

I have a Cynarina and short stalk pom pom xenia. IME xenia is more sensitive.

Case in point the other day i dosed about half a gallon CA solution (two part) !!!! by accident, jacking up the CA to 650.

Cynarina stayed put but Xenia closed up immediately. Everytime i change the flow or do water changes Xenia will close up again for a bit.

Thats all i have to contribute.....

[dendro982]

Are we are talking about the same coral? Here is my cynarina:


It deflated on the presense of toxins (Chromodoris magnifica, what helped in the tank crash an year ago), slight hint of ammonia, pH swing, alkalinity drop, and something unmeasurable, what happened in the tank, correctable with cleaning, water changes and running carbon (and I usually not overdue with regular water changes).

Personal impression, of course. I could be wrong, may be cynarina owners will post more.

[Mac Inger]

Yep, same coral. Mine is pink. I will take a picture.

Of course as i say this is in my experience.

[FishAreFriends2]

Does this happen to anthelias too? I recently had a healthy anthelia growing and after I moved the powerhead it started to die and slowly melt but now I am left with a small head that looks like its comming back. I read that anthelias are related to xenias right?

[dendro982]

My anthelia was more picky and light-loving (or at least it seems so), than white xenia. It just didn't want to grow, looks like the requirements are somehow different: xenia grows well, where anthelia grows, but not otherwise. In better lit locations anthelia now is huge, in moderate flow - the stalks are moved by flow.

But can't say about using it as water quality indicator.

Yours has a fair chance to restore - if conditions are right. Maybe it doesn't like changes...

[pheromo]

i don't have bumps, but super healthy silver pusling has little nodules growing out of the stalks during the day ...