Is it dieing?

[TOURKID]

I got this 'giant xenia' as a hitchhiker. I single polyp. its now (or was) the biggest thing in my tank. the stock being as round as my new phosban reactor! lol

now i see this and it looks like crap. I guess its 'rare' either way i dont want to lose it. is it decinegrateing? making babys?

I may need a babysitter for it if its dieing. I dont trust my water ever since my well pump broke and i had purple tap water for hrs on end.

help

maybe i can frag half of it or somthing???

(also why i started up the phos reactor lastnight. im also running fresh carbon)

[TacoKing]

Very possibly dying. The xenia species in general does not like rapid swings in phosphate. My guess is by adding the new reactor you dropped your levels really quickly thiu freaking out the coral.

Slow down the amount of water going through the reactor.

-Rob

[TOURKID]

taco... I just added the reactor about 14 hrs ago. the xenia has looked like this for about 3 - 4 days. It was at the highest point in the tank with heavy flow. It was doing great.

suddenly (and i cant think of any changes i made) it started doing that at the base and looking strange

2 days ago i moved it to the sand with lighter flow. no change.

I never fragged ANYTHING, but if anyone with a mature tank will take a slice and try to baby it to keep it around for all of us let me know.

also some directions would be helpful.

I live by newark but am actually going to c bus tomorrow. gimmi a shout, i dont wanna lose one of my show pieces

[nrstype]

Your xenia is a pompom xenia. RokleM has a bunch of this too (that I got mine from). Yours definitely does not look happy.

My pompom get temperamental with any water parameter swing or lighting change, but usually comes back as my parameters stabilize.

Follow the TacoKing's advice, Keep us posted & If it perks up.. post a pic.

Good luck.

[nrstype]

OH.. and these are easy to frag. Cut the heads off and tie them to a base, or you can remove a single tiny polyp and tie it to a base with fish line or similar.

Mine has never came detached from the base it was on.. so something is, or has been, hurting it.

When you cut these or try to mount them on a base, they are EXTREMELY SLLLLiiiimmmmy! So that makes it hard.

[TOURKID]

well, the day i saw it melting or whatever there was a tuxedo urchin very close to it, but that shouldent kill it right?

[nrstype]

Not familiar with urchins unfortunately, only that if something could sting it, it could possibly react badly I would imagine.

As to killing it, not sure. .. but I would think it could hurt it pretty well. My pompom is pretty hardy, always bounces back. Keep an eye on it to see if it recovers. I bet that urchin could have had a part in it. With all the crap I've put my pompom through, it just usually gets droopy & Wilted looking, but bounces back in a day or two. Could be that something has injured it I bet, considering the separation of the main stalk from the LR base. Mine has never done that, even after fragging it.

[TacoKing]

Ahh.. So this isn't a quick change. I thought it was something that happened over night. I personally haven't seen any urchins eat xenia or corals like that. From what I remember xenia releases a pretty noxious fluid when squeezed or eaten.

Has it changed much in the past 2 days? Or been pretty constant?

[TOURKID]

it gets just a little worse each day. todays the worst for sure. a little piece floated off. bummer.

I dident think it was the urchin either. I did move it away tho.

Dont know if i should frag it and keep it in the tank, might not accomplish much.

[MarineFishGuy]

I think you suspicion about the Well Water may be well founded. A chemical or mineral in the water may be to blame.

I had a Pop Pom I got from RokleM along with two other corals.
I put it in my tank and it was doing great for about 4-5 days.

I then added a Frag Rack I had made from PVC and spray painted with Krylon to my tank.
Within my 5 minutes my Zenia started to wilt. Over the following two weeks it continued to decline. I finally gave it to a fellow reefer to see if it would recover in his tank, but it did not.

I had actually soaked the Frag Rack in RO water for 2 days (after letting it dry for 4 days) prior to putting it in my tank. Nothing else was affected (LPS, Shrooms, Zooas, or fish/inverts).

The bad news is mine looked very similar to your photos.

I haver a new pulsing Zenia I got from nrstype a few weeks ago that is doing well now. So if you can figure out what is affecting it, you may be able to keep it.

I would consider testing your Well water for heavy metals and whatever else you can.
Good Luck,
Ken

[TOURKID]

I hate the country

[Reefdiver72]

Oh cheer up their are alot of people that cant keep Xenia. I have seen clean tanks that cant keep Xenia and I have seen dirty tanks that cant keep xenia its kind of funny in a way. least its a dime a dozen.

[TOURKID]

but i was good with it it was a hitchhiker on my first coral ever. (divers den candycanes) had it since the beginning and it only got bigger.

all my other coral is fine. my anem split but i really dont think it was due to stress. its been a yr and it was huge.

well.. my anem split did take out my yellow ring acans but i think theyll come back.

besides, this xenia was special.

[nrstype]

(Yeah.. it was FREE! In this hobby.. THAT IS SPECIAL!!!!!)

Tell you what tourkid.... I'll frag a couple polyps just for you, so if it croaks, you can have them. They will be small, but they will grow. (I only have ONE head of them left. Sold the others.)

Or RokleM is always hacking at his pompom heads for the best price around. I'm sure he has a bunch.

nrstype

[TOURKID]

nrstype.. no seriously have u ever seen a single stalk of xenia have a stock bigger than a soda can? its never spread or even made a single baby. had it almost 2 yrs. Its... giant! lol I dont think i want regular xenia. I dont like things that spread

[nrstype]

No.. my xenia's stalk only gets half as stocky as a soda can when it hunker's down... all depends on environment really.. but I know what you mean. Mine has never had any "babies" that I didn't start myself. However RokleM's Pompom xenia stalks are pretty chubby too.

But I understand.

Heck.. try to cut off a head, tie it to something, and put it in a QT maybe with some SW made with RO water... I wish you luck.. I love my pompom, even though it is only about as thick stalked as a johnsonville bratwurst .

[TOURKID]

ok well I bought 20 gallons of distilled water until i decide if my waters safe. will do a water change tomorrow.

[dew2loud1]

I'm one of those, can't keep xenia people. Couldn't keep it starting out, I can keep everything from mushrooms to clams to sps, but for some reason xenia always crashes on me after about six months. I've heard it prefers higher nutrient loaded waters, but I've seen that refuted many times just look at RokleM's tank, spotless but xenia grows like mad......

[dgunn]

I remember seeing the pictures of this coral last year when you first discovered it and it did not look like the xenia that I have that came from Eric (RokleM). I live close to you if your still interested in someone trying to raise a frag. I would even give you some of mine in exchange.

LMK,

Doug

[TOURKID]

Dewcloud.. I can vouch for my water being dirtier than ever

So, I cloned it into 3 pieces. Left all dead areas on the original rock

then I changed all my r/o filters. and still have high tds.

So....

I ordered a new expensive filter (whatever its called)

then I found a house in hilliard

rented it.

Broke my lease in this HORRIBLE country house (there was a clause for your work moving you.. so.. Im moving my company!!)

They can take theyer poisoned water broken well, heater and whatever else and shove it for 1800!! bleah

So Im movin to hilliard. I hear the weathers nice

[tabndust]

if the tank isnt happy move the house.

[RokleM]

Welcome to the neighborhood

[dew2loud1]

your really moving? hah. thats hilarious! i would move to if i was having problems with my water

[walmart]

thats funny where you moving to in hilliard?

[TOURKID]

yep. moving the house for the tank. and you cant take a city girl to the country, it just wont work!!

rokle.. thanks I was going to pm you for a # in case i have any tank moving emergencys. no date on the tank move yet. hopefully in the next ten days

walmart.. near davidson and wilcox... I cant remember the street name (serious) just signed the lease tonight. the entire house is wired for sound, even the deck, its REALLY nice. super classy. no country themes in sight lol

dewcloud.. yeah... I need to talk to you about that 90 gallon. Ill pm you soon (it would be for me) easier to move if i had another tank im thinking. but i need to think lol