pulsing xenia

[mudskipper1]

I have a month old 40 breeder with 50 lbs of live rock. I have cheato in my sump/fuge, I have 2 juv. ocellaris, various algae eating snails, scarlet hermits and red leg hermits. I have 1 sps frag, several mushrooms, yellow polyps, zoos, button polyps, star polyp, kenya tree, all of which are doing well. The sps has shown quite a bit of growth for 2 weeks.

All my parameters are good, but my calcium might be a little high, Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate all unmeasurable, calcium 560, phosphate 0, KH 11, temp 80-83, ph 8.1-8.3

The only other thing I have lost is a peppermint shrimp or 2. 1 confirmed dead and one just havnt seen since first day. I know they can hide really well, but I dont think there is anywhere I cant see. Either way, I lost one and the pulsing xenia has been getting progressively smaller since I got it. It barely opens now with very small "fingers".\\


Any idea what could be wrong?

THX in advance

[demonsp]

This is alot of stock in a 1 month tank. Do you feed phyto plankton ?

[clockwurk]

try live phyto and iodide suppliments.

if not, i know this sounds crazy, but it worked for me.
cut it in two.
i read somewhere that xenias are like calerpa, and will just die off even when its healthy.
some people suggest trimming xenias regularly.

like i said, it worked for me.
my xenias were dying and my params were perfect.
after trimming, theyve been growing like freaking weeds.

[reefkrazy]

xenia are a very tricky coral. some can grow it and a lot cant. It could be fine one day then melt the next. I have been growing one colony for a year and then a couple of days ago it melted. It just happens. Also they are a great way of telling if the water param's are declining.