Xenia Help

[TippyToeX]

Hi Anthony and anyone who can give some advice.

Yesterday I received a beautiful piece of xenia from a good guy out in Cali. I don't know if it has a proper ID, I just assumed it was some kind of Heteroxenia. I only base that on it being non-branching. It is a thick and very tall stalk (mine was about 5-6" stalk alone).

I received it in great condition. He is a picture of it in the bag.

http://images.snapfish.com/3436%3B%3A5523232%7Ffp54%3Dot%3E232%3B%3D7%3A9%3D%3B63%3DXROQDF%3E2323836596379ot1lsi

Well I drip acclimated it for over an hour. I placed it at the bottom of the tank in gentle flow. It came from more intense lighting then my tank but still it was slightly shaded.

For a good two hours it looked wonderful. Even a pulse or two. Then it slumped over and stayed that way for the rest of the day. This is what I woke to when the lights popped on.

http://images.snapfish.com/3437255923232%7Ffp47%3Dot%3E232%3B%3D7%3A9%3D%3B63%3DXROQDF%3E2323838923697ot1lsi
http://images.snapfish.com/3437255923232%7Ffp4%3Enu%3D323%3A%3E6%3B8%3E%3A72%3EWSNRCG%3D323292983267%3Cnu0mrj

I knew beforehand that this was an extremely delicate xenia. I guess I wonder if I can do anything other then having good water quality (am running ozone) to help this frag out. I'd hate to see it die. :(

Water parameters:

Ammonia, Nitrite, 0
Nitrate 5ppm
pH 8.4 (day) 8.3-8.2 (night)
temp 81 degrees
SG 1.025
PO4 0
Ozone 370mv
Iodine 0.07mg/L

It's a 29g tank lit with 175w MH 20k XM. The bulb is a good 10" from the water, the frag at least 20" or more from the bulb and again slightly shaded.

TIA

[nebraskareef]

Amy, I wish you the best of luck with this xenia, you're gonna need it. I hate to be a downer, but I went through about 8 frags of xenia before one finally made it. All of them had slow drips, and all of them melted overnight.

I see your's has made it through the night, all we can do now is hope for the best.

for such a "weed" xenia sure is a pain in the butt to acclimate!

[TippyToeX]

Thanks nebraskareefer. :) They sure are fragile corals when they want to be. This is a species I've wanted for a long time so I am hopeful that it will pull through somehow.

[nebraskareef]

Oh, I didn't even notice it was a non-branching xenia! That makes it even more nerve racking I'm sure! Such a beautiful species IMO! Next time, shoot for 2-3 hour slow drip. Thats what I finally tried and worked for my xenia. I beleive I read somewhere that PH is the biggest thing for these guys during acclimation. If this one doesn't pull through, I hope your frag-buddy will help you get another. It's pretty amazing that it looks so nice in the bag, Xenia are notorious for being bad-shippers.

I sure hope Anthony returns so he can shed some more light on the subject!

[TippyToeX]

Thanks again nebraskareef! :) It truly it a gorgeous species. I'll be ready to do a longer drip acclimation if needed next time. I have read (and Anthony has stated in his Xenia article in RK) that they are very sensitive to pH.

I am very fortunate that the guy I got this frag from could not be a better person to buy from. Very fast to respond and responsible reefer. He is more then willing to send another. I just hope it would not be needed. :(

Here is an updated picture of the crown of the xenia. I cleaned up the rotted polyps and any hanging flesh. The base is still attached. I should also have mentioned my Ca is 400 and Alk is 9dkh.

http://images.snapfish.com/343726%3A323232%7Ffp58%3Dot%3E232%3B%3D7%3A9%3D%3B63%3DXROQDF%3E23238389%3A7257ot1lsi

[nebraskareef]

Wow. that sure looks depressing! Don't lose hope though. We both know that xenia can be inches from the big reeftank in the sky then BOOM growing like crazy. If it stays attached and the whole trunk/base doesn't melt, I say you've still got some chance of a long term success.

Chalk this one up as a typical, picky xenia.
I'll be interested to see how it looks in the morning, please post more pictures tommorow!

I'll cross my fingers for you!

[M.Maddox]

How is it doing today?

[TippyToeX]

http://instagiber.net/smiliesdotcom/otn/sad/iiworry.gif

http://images.snapfish.com/3437345923232%7Ffp45%3Dot%3E232%3B%3D7%3A9%3D%3B63%3DXROQDF%3E23238393%3B7345ot1lsi
http://images.snapfish.com/3437345923232%7Ffp58%3Dot%3E232%3B%3D7%3A9%3D%3B63%3DXROQDF%3E23238393%3B696%3Bot1lsi

On a good note, he has sent another frag using a different shipping method to someone with great success! If need be a new frag will be sent to me Monday.

[dazzn]

Hello,

I just picked up a 2 Heteroxenia's (on a single rock) on Monday. All this week I have been looking for some more information on this coral. Sorry for the loss :(. But do you have any other type of xenia's? Before I purchased mine I had Red Sea and another called "Thick Stalk Xenia". These are doing great, now I'm trying Heteroxenia and they stretch there polyps out, but they are not open or pulse yet. The only thing I can suggest is to try Red Sea xenia first then go for the more delicate ones.

[M.Maddox]

Xenias aren't dead til they're dissolved, so there is still hope.

A nice guy to send you a 2nd one :)

[TippyToeX]

dazzn
<img src="/images/welcome.gif" width="500" height="62"><br><b><i><big><big>To Reef Central</b></i></big></big>

Very good advice, thanks! It's always best to be sure you can keep the more hardy xenia species. I do have elongata and a kind of pulsing Anthelia. I even have a very sensitive other xenia that is about as delicate as it gets. This is my first xenia melt down. :( I'm just afraid I did something wrong this time.

I still have some hope for it, but I'm now letting it play out in QT land. I don't want to endanger any corals if it brown jellies on me.

[Anthony Calfo]

It looks like it (clearly) shipped badly... most likely due to poor bagging/handling technique. Xenia can/do ship for long and great distances (I have shipped many thousands cross country for 1-3 days deliveries).

They key is not touching the coral while mouthing it upside down... and rafting it so it cannot touch the side bag walls... then insuring against temperature fluctuations.

I can imagine any number of scenarios that would aggravate this (not settling the frag long enough for shipping (post cutting)... not taping the box lid seam sealed to support temperature stability... extended transit, etc)

Hmmm.... many possibilities here. As for ID, its tough to tell Heteroxenia from Xenia indeed. Alderslades latest book details it FWIW

Anthony :)

[nebraskareef]

Incase anyone wants to know-

"rafting" is when you get a some styrofoam, cut a hole in it as big as the plug, and wedge the plug in the hole, upside down. The frag never touches the bag at all.

alternatively, you could take two peices and rubberband them to the rock.

If everyone already knows this, I appologize!

[Anthony Calfo]

ah, yes... thanks for the clarity, my friend. I was not thinking others would not recall/recognize rafts.

And the problem with corals touching the inside bag walls respectively while jostled in transit is that the contact stimulates them to produce excessive amounts of mucus which is not only stifling (oxygen) in the bag without wave/water flow... but the increasing amounts of mucus instigate increasing amounts of bacteria which can become pathogenic in high numbers and attack healthy coral tissue (as we see here in the pictures of the coral on arrival... putrid bag water)

[dean1977]

rafting is the most important thing in my experience too

[TippyToeX]

Good information on what might have caused this. Thanks Anthony & all. :)

[daveonbass]

that kind of makes me mad to find out NOW about the rafting thing. I have ordered Xenia from DRs. Foster Smith MANY times and it's always DOA...then they make me ship it back to prove that it really is DEAD before I get a very unprompt refund. I have started to conclude that they are the Wal-Mart of the fish industry...they have a lot of great things even at great prices but there are some things that they should leave to the specialists...

[TippyToeX]

Sorry for your bad luck Dave. :(

I got my new frag in today. :D So far the different shipping method he used made all the difference in the world. Last time it started to melt away after 4 hours in the tank. This guy was pulsing in the bag. I placed it in the tank after a good long acclimation and though it's ticked off, it's pulsing now and then.

Here is a bad bad bad photo of it (forgive the flash). I'll do better tomorrow when it's more happy!

http://images.snapfish.com/34377%3A2%3B23232%7Ffp46%3Dot%3E232%3B%3D7%3A9%3D%3B63%3DXROQDF%3E232384449%3B9%3C9ot1lsi

[Anthony Calfo]

a little trick, love...do try at times photographing with your flash... but with the aquarium lights off (only just enough indirect room light to allow your lens to focus). You might be pleasantly surprised by the results. You may need to bump the film speed up a whisker (200 from 50 or 100), but fab photos still to be had.

Great to hear about the better shipping success :)

[TippyToeX]

Oooooo I'm going to try that now. :D Thanks for the tip!

FWIW, here is what the original frag looks like. Hot stuff. Over 7" tall for the base alone.

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/domitron2/reefcentral/noflash.jpg

[ktani]

Amy,

I think it would look better in my tank. :-)

Kip

[TippyToeX]

Hmmm... I feel like you are wrong in thinking that KipMaster. :D

[MStiers]

I have been told that Xenia and Anthelia excrete mucus during shipping, and if they aren't dipped in saltwater to remove the mucus coating prior to introducing it to the main tank, they will ultimately die.

I never dipped mine though as I purchased mine 45 minutes from home and acclimated very slowly.

About a month ago I had a heater malfunction and raise my temp to 93 degrees. This killed most of my corals including my Xenia....or so I thought. All that was left on the LR was a slime coating were the Xenia used to be, and within a few weeks that slime developed hands and grew from there. As stated previously, don't count them out.

Amy, I really like your Xenia. You'll have to keep us updated. :)

[TippyToeX]

MStiers - Thanks for the kind words!

I think that shipping mucus is the biggest factor when it comes to their surviving shipping from what Anthony has said.

Originally posted by Anthony Calfo
And the problem with corals touching the inside bag walls respectively while jostled in transit is that the contact stimulates them to produce excessive amounts of mucus which is not only stifling (oxygen) in the bag without wave/water flow... but the increasing amounts of mucus instigate increasing amounts of bacteria which can become pathogenic in high numbers and attack healthy coral tissue (as we see here in the pictures of the coral on arrival... putrid bag water)

So I think a dip would be pointless. By the time it reaches your tank and is acclimated, any harm that was done is done. Any kind of dip would be to much stress.

It's amazing just how much this coral can survive! I'm glad it made it past your temp trauma. It's called "the rat weed" for a good reason. :D I hope my newest xenia addition will archive that status.

I'll be sure to keep everyone updated. Thanks again MStiers!

[Drewpy]

Another poor xenia to pray for:( Seems like there is some hope but---- i don't know...http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/89862random_107.jpg

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/89862random_110.jpg

[TippyToeX]

Awww poor little frag. :( I hope it makes it Drew! Please keep us updated ok?

I need to take a picture of my new frag. It's looking wonderful!

[Drewpy]

here are some posts from our local forum that give some hope... Did your original frag come through? How did he ship the new frag? The guy i got mine from said he would re ship...(maybe i can help him)

"Might not be a lost cause Drew.
I shipped a chunk to California to a friend as an experiment and the whole thing melted off but left a 'skin' on the rock and within a few days it grew some bumps and a month later she had a flourishing colony. Give it a chance, I bet it'll come back. "

AND

"I gotta agree with Dawn... these things just do not go away.... I had some on a rock that I did not want there anymore.. sso I cut off as much as I could and then scraped/siphoned what was left... I still got colonies there several times after repeating the last step...!!!"

[TippyToeX]

Originally posted by Drewpy
Did your original frag come through? How did he ship the new frag?

The original frag is still a white fleshy odd looking blob in the QT tank. It looks half dead half alive. I have no expatiation of it making it though. Each day a little more and a little more rots off. I think it might be taking so long to die because it was such a thick frag. I'll have to take some pictures this coming weekend.

He shipped the new frag much very much like rafting. Not one part of the frag ever touched the bag (or could have) that I could see.

How is your frag today? I agree with the people on your club forum, these guys just need the smallest scrap to live. I'm hoping for the best for you!

Here in my new frag. This pic was taken yesterday.

http://images.snapfish.com/3437%3A54%3B23232%7Ffp46%3Dot%3E232%3B%3D7%3A9%3D%3B63%3DXROQDF%3E2323846646952ot1lsi

[nebraskareef]

Man Amy, I'm so envious! That really is a good looking Xenia! I wish I could find that type locally. Not alot of coral diversity in the corn-field-ocean of Nebraska.

I'm glad the 2nd frag made it!

I'm still hoping for the first one as well!

[TippyToeX]

:D Thanks a bunch nebraskareef!! I appreciate your rooting my little frag along.

I wish I could find these kinds of corals locally as well. There is not much diversity out here in the desert. It's growing though!

Do you have a reef club near by? I only see Omaha Marine Society for NE (close?). Networking with fellow hobbyist especially in frag dry areas is invaluable!

[nebraskareef]

Yes, Omaha is close to me. I've been talking with a few guys in OMS, not too many really active in the club. The hobby isn't that big out here. I'm starting a club in Lincoln, (my hometown) Hopefully we can start getting a good pool of frags in the coming years. Sorry to hijack your thread.

good luck in the desert!

[TippyToeX]

No hijacking at all. Reef clubs are my current obsession. :D If you need help/advice starting your club let me know! I did the same with a good friend out here in Vegas.

[Drewpy]

While my other corals are open and thriving what was left of the xenia i got has gone the way of the dodo

[TippyToeX]

Sorry to hear that Drew. :(

[nebraskareef]

Amy, what ever happened to the first frag?

Daniel

[TippyToeX]

It melted away into nothing. :(

[nebraskareef]

awwwwwwww.

Got any new pics of the 2nd frag?

I love that peice.

Daniel

[TippyToeX]

I'll get some new pics of it soon! :) It's one of my favorites by far.