Theories on Xenia and random thoughts w/pics

[amazingbobby]

I have a theory about successful xenia propagation. I'm pretty sure that at night, small alien landers are coming in throught the smoke detector and beaming in new stalks of xenia in varois locations in this aquarium. I sold $60 worth again. This is hundreds of dollars from a single, pathetic $7 stalk that i begged from the LFS during the Great Xenia Drought of Northern California '06. I'm telling you.....Aliens must be involved.

Here it is, 29 gals after 13 months.



In case you are wondering... I actually enjoy seeing the equipment in the back of the aquarium. I think it makes the xenia feel more at home after the cryogenic confinement crypts (CCCs) that they are kept in during the long interstellar journey.

[SDguy]

IME, xenia like nutrients. Higher nutrients in the water = more xenia.

[amazingbobby]

Hello, my name is Bobby and I love to overfeed. Many do it, but few admit it! It all started when my clownfish appeared to be hungry right after feeding them some cyclopeeze....

Here is the mother alien spawn

[Gdevine]

Bought an interesting piece of pulsing Xenia from my local shop. It was interesting as it was on a long piece of rock where most times Xenia is in clumps (per se). So, I placed it (thank God!) on the highest point on my reef to provide a real stunning visual...well as Xenia does, it has grown!

Dropping spores that are propagating and I am totally interested in how this will turn out over time.

I saw a 200g tank in the FL Keys (I live in Pompano Bch FL) where 90% of the rock was covered in Xenia and it was about as visually stunning as any set up I've ever see.

Xenia, the dandy lion of the marine tank

[r00onmac]

man... enjoy that cash cow... i flooded my market and got a free superman frag, a free medium sized hammer frag, free mexican turbo snails, free lawnmower blenny, free phosban, etc...

now they wont take any more until it sells... so i may be stuck with this last batch for a while

[drummereef]

I think I'm going to have to agree with the 'alien lander' theory. Seems like you've thought this one out. I think the tank look nice.

[amazingbobby]

I got that small Hammer coral that you see in the pick for a small rock with 4 stalks of xenia on it, at the LFS no less. And they often give me new rubble to use for "coral futures" as I like to call them.

I also frag a moderate amount of zoanthids, but there isn't that much interest here.

[busterb]

I can't seem to get rid of mine.. It's sad but they won't stop growing. When I moved to the larger tank I scaped off all that I can see from the main tank rocks and now just about 2-3weeks later they are coming back from the little tiny pieces of scrap that I missed. Arrrghh. THey were cool at first but they just grow tooo fast and pretty much over run the tank.. Is there any way to get rid of these things?

BTW. THe ones I scaped off I gave away and I still have some in my sump.

[amazingbobby]

Oh, I have given them to charity*, ate them in a stir fry#, did sick and twisted quasi-medical experiments on them^, and had a heart-to-heart conversation with an emerald crab about a possible mob hit on some wayward xenia.**

And they still continue to thrive. And make me a bit anxious.

I think about what would happen if all xenia in the world stopped pulsing, and then began to pulse all at once an a synchronized rhythm, creating global tidal surges and a reversal of the Gulf Stream and life as we know it!

*sort of, a college reefer
#told my daughter this, but not true
^
**My emerald crab speaks Italian.... weird, isn't it?

[amazingbobby]

busterb, when you scrape them off, those little hands keep reaching back from that tiny speck of tissue that you missed? I know what you speak of. Amazing. It amazes me when people tell me they can't grow xenia when their setup is similar to mine.

[davocean]

Yeah, they spread like wildfire.
I've had them pull rocks over while stretching to a new rock overnight.
My last trip to my LFS got me $140 credit.
Be careful though, they can easily take over tank.
I've actually taken a torch to some rocks, which works great to spot kill small areas while not harming the rest of the rock.

[busterb]

torch? hmmmm ... i like it.. muh ha ha ha

[davocean]

Sounds extreme, but I saw it posted here once, gave it a try.
Worked great for ridding calerpa and bryopsis as well.
Hit that one spot like 3 seconds, rest of rock is fine and good growth/coraline comes back to that spot pretty quick.

[Machiavelli]

I had small pair of Xenia stalks in my 55gal for a long while and they never once grew larger or propagated. Then, we moved the tank to a new apt and the next thing we know the thing is growing like wildfire and wont stop. This wasnt just a nutrient spike either, as this thing was growing and propagating for months afterwards.

So the only logical conclusion is that Xenia can only propagate if you live in certain zip codes.

[grego]

Michiavelli..... same thing happened to me, WHYYYY..... no idea.

[amazingbobby]

You must have a smoke detector in the same room as the aquarium. That is where the alien landers come in to advance xenia growth in your aquarium. They are sneaky little guys.

[KEstep]

Originally posted by Machiavelli

So the only logical conclusion is that Xenia can only propagate if you live in certain zip codes.

ROFLMAO.
If that is the case then 79109 is the Xenia homeland. I was cleaning one of my tanks for work and accidentally sucked out a tiny xenia stalk during a water change. I found it when I went to dump the bucket. So I took it home and threw it in my tank not expecting it to live. 6 months later I now have most of the side glass covered with it. It doesn't stop. It was not getting on the rock because it was trapped by a BTA and a hammer. But it has managed to break free from them as well. Now it is slowing overgrowing everything. I rip off pieces all the time and put them in clients tanks.

[leeweber85]

are your xenia stalks just showing up in random places? that is weird. IME they like bright light (metal halides) and they tend to climb as they grow.

[amazingbobby]

They climb as they grow and leave pieces behind which turn into new stalks. They tend to go nearer the light and with the flow. Some random stalks have show up; those are the mysterious ones.

[Machiavelli]

It basically looks like slime as it extends and sprouts new stalks.

[r00onmac]

when you say hit it with a torch... you mean a torch coral? im considering surrounding my xenia rock with aggressive corals like torch, a bta, etc... and that way if it tries to spread it will get smacked..

[awestruck]

Just tagging along--amazingbobby, you are making me laugh laugh laugh--thanx!

[davocean]

When I say torch, I mean a propane gas torch!
I did this when I swapped tanks, as I had some calerpa and bryopsis hitch on a couple rocks.
I also rid some zenia.
Worked like a charm!
I burned a few spots about the size of a quarter on some nice size rocks.
It was that or ditch the rock.
Rock is already looking good, and no bad stuff.

[RedSonja]

The alien responsible for our Xenia explosion is named Hamburglar.



We do have a smoke detector in the same room, hmmmm. Conspiracy? Could be!

-Sonja

[Pmolan]

Great!