why isnt my xenia growing like wild fire?

[FishKid]

my water params were perfect (yesterday power went out and my skimmer drained (lots of dead algae in the skimmer which i didnt notice til nitrates were up a little) they are right by the lights maybe 4" below the surface, and after several months (6) it has only doubled in size. is that "growing like wildfire"?

mark

[thezookeeper]

No Mark, that definately isn't growing like wildfire. Let's put it this way. I can easily prop my xenia colony into at least 10 nice size frags every six weeks or so. Maybe even sooner. And this leaves me with a nice size colony. They like high lighting, consistent pH (normal reef), and a decent flow. I've known several people who just cannot keep them. And others, like myself, who are almost plagued by it growing. HTH


Joanne

[bongobrian]

I don't think you're doing that bad if the xenia doubled in size in 6 months. I'm sure some people get it to grow much faster, but I don't even think mine have doubled after 5 months. The things I've come to understand about xenia is that they love current, iodine, and lots of light. A little bit of nitrate isn't going to hurt them. Make sure there isn't anything stinging the xenia like corals with sweeping tenticles or anemones. Certain types of fish like to nip at xenia and will prevent it from growing very large. What type of lights do you have? IMO xenia is highly photosynthetic.

[bongobrian]

Also, how long has your tank been set up? perhaps the xenia just needs to get more established before it starts spreading "like wildfire."

[FishKid]

lighting: 2x 96w PC
tanks been up for 1 year come february
i have a lawnmower blenny that likes to swim through it but doesnt nip at it
I have a hagen 402 (i think 402) giving them excellent flow

i have an aiptasia problem that i am working on, but none are touching the xenia..

[kevinpo]

I only have experience with the Red Sea Pom Pom type so I will comment on those. I have kept them under VHO's only and 175W MH/VHO's and 400W MH/VHO's. They grow like wildfire to plauge porportions under MH's with high flow and medium to high DOC's. Mine would split from 1 colony into 6-7 every 10-14 days. They like to constantly move higher and higher towards the lights. I had them on the glass at the waterline maybe 8-9 colonies and when I would do a water change they would be exposed out of water for 15 min or so with the MH's blazing down on them. After filling the tank back up they would begin pumping away in 10-15 min. I tried to remove them all from the rocks when I went to a bigger tank. 7 months later and I have about 20 colonies don't know where they came from.

Kevin

[kevinpo]

Here's a picture of them.....

Kevin

[flaminangel]

Be careful what you wish for with xenia. I used to read threads of people complaining about their xenia taking over and I thought, "I wish this was my biggest problem..lol" So I added some about 8 months ago, and I'm regetting it now. I wish mine wouldn't grow so fast. I'm constantly pruning this stuff and it's still taking over.

I still think it's beautiful, it's just turned into a pest for me. If it's growing slow for you, be thankful...

Stephanie

[organicreefer]

fishkid,youre doing better than me...my xenia is just about the same size it was when i got it almost a year ago it pumps ,but not all together and strong like ive seen in others tanks.the weird thing is im constantly fragging my anthelia,and they are very closely related /require similar conditions maybe ill get some more and see if i can get that to grow ..............

[thezookeeper]

Organic:

If you ever decide to try another xenia colony, I frag mine once every 3 weeks or so. It comes from a colony that's been fragged numberous times and very successful. Just let me know!

[jarmstrong]

How much current is too much for Xenia? Mine seem to be doing great but they are tossed around some. Not constant because of wavemaker but get bent over pretty good sometimes. Will this be detrimetal in the long run?

[RobG]

Its interesting how differently tanks turn out. My Xenia and Anthelia barely grew when I had PC lighting. I've had MH for 4 months or so now, the Xenia is like a weed (But good for getting credit at the LFS) but the anthelia is hardly growing at all. Basically the opposite of o. r.'s

[organicreefer]

joanne,thats very nice of you to offer" you meet the nicest people on reefland" our new slogan
id love if we could trade something...whats youre exp with shipping,wouldnt we need heat packs this time of year and stuff?maybe later in the summer it might be better?im all for swapping though.....