[Firefish]

After reading about how hardy this coral was a few months back I decided to go out and buy one. I figured since my tank has been up for a few years and everything is thriving (corals,fish & inverts) I'd be ok. This was 2 months ago. Since then the Xenia has withered from 5" down to 1". It's not even pumping at all. It started out under 250 w 12k halide, about 12" from the surface (same location as the LFS) with no good results. Now it's under 360 watts of VHO in a 72gal tank. Moderate current. Water stats are fine and everything else is growing super fast. I dose calk. every other day and use Kent Reef Minerals once a week. It's a 5th of the size it was when I bought it.

[icemark]

Some people have great luck with them and some don't.

I have never had any luck in either my 30 gal or 60 gal tanks, but they grow like weeds in my big tank in the garage and the 20 gal and any number of 10 gal tanks.

All get fed the same, all use similar lights and the same water...

Try and get a frag that has the same lighting and water depth as yours.

[ScottC]

I could probably grow mine in the toilet and bathtub if I tried. Sorry to hear of your misfortune.

I just gave the LFS 4 frags for a $100 credit yesterday.

Scott

[SPasse]

Firefish,

Xenia seems to be a fickle critter for many, for others like me, it is a weed like pest.

My live rock came with a tiny one-polyp hitchhiker, and it has covered almost a square foot area, and has been trimmed back to almost nothing.

Observations:

1 Make sure that your iodide is at natural sea water levels.

2 Lots of light, mine were under 400-watt 10,000 k halides.

3 Specific gravity of 1.025 – 1.026

4 Temperature of around 80 degrees.

Also, successive tank raised generations seem to be much more stable.

Also, sometimes colonies will crash, but you will then find baby colonies popping up all over your tank.

Regards,

Scott Passe

[organicreefer]

the pumping xenia in my 93 g is the same size it was when i added it about 6-8 months ago(im keeping a log book with the new set-up,im tired of guessing) and it pumps with less vigor

[srgtkoons]

I had a huge colony of encrusting xenia, and a few weeks ago, for some unknown reason it literally melted, flaked away. The major colony was about 8"x11" with smaller colonies all over the tank. Half of my back wall was covered with it as well. Someone i talked to said the same thing happened to theirs once they added a flourescent green frogspawn. And either outa coincidence or truth a week before that happened i added a flourscent green frogspawn. I am just curious if any of you folks that had problems also have bright green forgspawns. I have a theory that the green frogspawns add somthing to the water that the xenia doesnt like. Its a little far fetched but am curious if anyone else had the same experience. I have a small frag in another tank and as soon as it growns I am going to add it to my main tank again and see if it kills the xenia.

[organicreefer]

omg srgtkoons,i have a torch(also euphyllia) about eight inches from the xenia thats not doing good.i have xenia in a nano thats spreading.i think you MIGHT be on to something.

[srgtkoons]

I am not saying its everything of the genus euphyllia, because in my main tank, i have a hammer, and two frogspawns. The original frogspawn was brown, and i had no problems with my xenia spreading. Once i added the bright green with pink tip frogspawn within a week the xenia crashed. My theory is not that euphyllia corals are causing a problem. But some chemical assocaited with the green pigmentation of these corals. So i would actually be interested if anyone has any coral of the genus euphyllia that is on a majority bright green in color.

[organicreefer]

my torch is dark green with bright green tips

[srgtkoons]

ok organic, now that is a connection. Perhaps there is a chemical associated with the green pigmentation of euphyllia corals. My hammer is on a majority brown with bright green tips, but the way the flow circulated would be that any water passing around the hammer would go through my skimmer before it came near the xenia. And it was rather small. I picked it up as a damaged coral for like 5 bucks and nursed it back to health. My brown frogspawn was right next to my xenia with no problems. The bright green frogspawn was upstream of the xenia and any chemicals would be direct right at it. Perhaps this is happening because xenia has never been observed actively feeding and is thought to directly absorb nutrients and chemicals from the water. I would like some others with difficulty on keeping xenia to comment weather or not they have any bright green euphyllia corals.

[BTL]

I thought it was the color/type of Zooxanthelle that determined color, not differnt chemicals (unless they were dyed! yuck!). And i think that the differnt colors of Zooxant. would not cause that drastic of a change, unless the two differnt frog spawns were differnt species and excreted differnt chemicals. I dont even know if frogs spawns have zooxanthelle so this is kind of un based, but i cant help playing devils advocate.


My 2cts.

Andy

[GreenLincoln]

Hmmmmmm.........interesting observation. I too have a flourescent green frogspawn and I haven't been able to keep xenia. It starts out great then just withers away.

[ScottC]

Originally posted by BTL
I thought it was the color/type of Zooxanthelle that determined color, not differnt chemicals ...........I dont even know if frogs spawns have zooxanthelle so this is kind of un based, but i cant help playing devils advocate.


My 2cts.

Andy

OK,

The zooxanthellae does cause the different colors in photosynthetic corals... but it's the photoluminescent proteins in them that give off the greens and pinks and reds we see under actinic lighting. These colors are used to help the coral protect itself from harmful light rays. Sort of it's natural sunscreen. If you see green, it means it's blocking that particular wavelegnth of light, red...that wavelegnth, etc.

Frogspawns do have zooxanthellae. The large inflated lobes of the coral act as magnifying lenses to intensify the sunlight needed by the zooxanthelae. They are deepwater corals, that is why they need this adaptation.

Hope this helps!!

Scott