[bguile]

Well, after my last experience of losing my Xenia I visited the store today to get more. This time I ran tests on the LFS water to check the paramaters. Everything was the same as mine until I tested SG. Theirs is measuring 1.028!!! No wonder the last ones shriveled up...they were in shock. My tank is only 1.022. How long should I acclimate them to get them used to 1.022? Or would it be easier to raise the SG of the tank every half hour or so?

[Reefland]

The SG of your tank should be higher than 1.022 if you plan to keep coral, 1.025 is much better and should be your goal to raise to over the next several weeks. Do not raise the SG of your water over the course of several hours due to the life you already have in there.

As for what you have now, you need to do a very slow and long acclimation with them. I would focus on adding 1/4 cup of your tank water to the bag every 20 minutes and when the bag is full, emptying it out and starting over again. I would do this procedure until I've emtpied the bag about 3 times, or over the course of 3 hours or so. May seem a bit long but much safer than rushing through it.

[jiggly75]

well u could always put it in a bucket and drip acclimate it. im not sure how long it would take though. just a thought. i got my xenia from a local seller and i didnt have a prob. they closed up for a few hrs, but then they opened right up

[bguile]

Since it wouldnt be good to raise the SG of the tank b/c of the life already in it, could it be said that I really couldn't expect the xenia to adjust to 1.022 in just 3 hours? If not are there any other options? Maybe setup another tank/holding bucket with a higher SG, heater and pump?

[Reefland]

I think acclimating it for a period of 3 hours will be sufficient for Xenia. My comment was to steer you to take the chance with one stalk of Xenia acclimating and not your entire tank.

[bguile]

I understand. I setup my drip acclimating system to slowly lower the SG of the LFS water and after an hour it was down to 1.025. However, the xenia were pulsing less and half heartedly. I stopped the drip to give them some time to acclimate before starting again. However, the longer it went the less they pulsed...and more polyps closed up. They were still pulsing within about 20 minutes after I opened the bag into my holding container. They were still closing up so I figured I'd see what happened if I began to raise the SG by replacing the water that was taken out in the beginning. They began again to respond. The more the SG raised, the more they responded. I think I am going to keep them in a seperate area with a higher SG for a couple weeks as the display tank SG raises. Unless of course someone see's a really good reason why I shouldn't.

Thanks.

[Samper]

By your observations it sounds like keeping them at a higher SG for a while is in order.

[bguile]

Yeah. I prepared a new batch of water and let it airate (sp?) for a couple hours before starting to acclimate the Xenia to it. Finally around 12 last night I placed them in the new water and they were doing fine. I checked on them this morning and they were still pulsing away. Now to start the slow process of raising the SG in my display tank. Do you all think I should drip the new solution? or do many small water changes less than 10%?

[Sueet]

Originally Posted by bguile

Yeah. I prepared a new batch of water and let it airate (sp?) for a couple hours before starting to acclimate the Xenia to it. Finally around 12 last night I placed them in the new water and they were doing fine. I checked on them this morning and they were still pulsing away. Now to start the slow process of raising the SG in my display tank. Do you all think I should drip the new solution? or do many small water changes less than 10%?

Personally, I would just add salt-water for evaporation, instead of clear water... assuming that you do add water each day, this would be a very small amount each time.

[bguile]

With it being such a small tank surprisingly I dont get that much evaporation and only have to add a cup of water once a week. I see what you're getting at though.

[Sueet]

Originally Posted by bguile

With it being such a small tank surprisingly I dont get that much evaporation and only have to add a cup of water once a week. I see what you're getting at though.

Probably your hood keeps the evap. down... Is there a lid or something you could open up to allow for more moisture to escape for a little while?

[Samper]

A cup once a week............if i could only be so lucky. In my 20 I lose a litre a day. It's kind of nice though cause then I can drip my kalk nightly.

[bguile]

Yeah samper...I guess Im lucky.
As far as keeping the hood open, Im not sure that'd be good. My fish are jumpers and I dont have any eggcrate. Maybe I'll pick some up.