Need help reattaching xenia frag

[STARFYRE]

My coral isn't "sick". It's broken; which is kinda like sick? So I'm posting this here. If it needs to be moved to another forum, that's fine.
I just bought a xenia frag about an hour ago. It has two frags rubberbanded to a piece of LR. I placed it in the bucket to acclimate. When I poured the water from the transport bag into the bucket, one frag detached from the rubber band holding it to the rock. It's drip acclimating right now. Should I get another rubber band and try as best I can to reattach it to another small piece of LR? The base of the frag is VERY small. SUGGESTIONS PLEASE!!!

 

[roka64]

Hmmm, I'm not sure but if it was banded you could probably band it back. I'll move this to the corals section. I think you might get more experience there.

 

[loyalrogue]

Don't bother with rubberbands.
You're more likely to do harm than good.

Just place the frag in your tank (after acclimating) in a low flow area, and placed a couple of pieces of rock around it to keep it from floating away.
You can even place a piece of rubble directly on top of the xenia base without harming it.
It will attach by itself in a couple of days.

If your frag doesn't make it send me a PM.
I just fragged about 30 stalks of pink xenia for an upcoming frag swap meet.

 

[roka64]

Sweet, thanks loyal, I learn something new every day!

 

[loyalrogue]

I just break the stalks off wherever it's overgrown and jam the frags down in a pile of rubble.
They usually recover within the hour, and start attaching to the rubble within a couple of days.

Unfortunately xenia has a mind of it's own when it comes to living or dying.
You could have two tanks with identical water params and lighting, the xenia would thrive like a weed in one, and melt away to nothing in the other... go figure. :?

 

[STARFYRE]

First thing, they seem to be the pompom xenia. There was 2 frags I bought. I took the one that detached back to the LFS. They replaced it. They don't seem to be doing that well. I drip acclimated the one for about 4 hours. The replacement one I acclimated for about 2 hours. Both of the frags are not pulsing like they were in the LFS. The one I acclimated the longest does not look good. It's droopy like a wilted flower. I saw it moving a little before I kicked on the light today. It wasn't pulsing; just random polyp extensions here and there. The one I acclimated less time is still a baby pink color, and in the pompom position (polyps not extended). I can see that one moving a little more than the other one, but still not pulsing.
I just checked on them...Now the one that looked wilted (first one I got) is tight like a fist? So I guess it's still alive? Is this normal behavior? Will they eventually start pulsing again when they're used to their new home?
Also, this could be a factor....They had MH over them in the LFS. I have a 2x65w dual actinic and dual daylight fixture. They were placed on the bottom of the tank in the LFS. Because my light is not as strong, I placed them up higher in my tank. Could they be adjusting to the different light?

 

[roka64]

A 4 hour acclimation, if you did the drip method, you probably lost a lot of heat. When you placed it back in, the temp change may have shocked it.

 

[loyalrogue]

A 4 hour acclimation, if you did the drip method, you probably lost a lot of heat. When you placed it back in, the temp change may have shocked it.

Good point.
I noticed one coral seller on ebay that refuses to honor a guarantee if his corals are drip acclimated.
His instructions are to float the bag for 45mins and then place the coral directly in the tank.
I don't know if any of you all follow that advice, but I always drip for at least a couple of hours.

Perhaps after a long drip it should be floated in the tank to equalize the temps again?
I don't have that problem living down here in South Florida.
My A/C is set to 80° during the day and the tanks stay at room temp with the help of a fan.
When I drip, even for several hours, it still stays the same temp as the tank.

Getting back to your questions, yes, it's normal for xenia to close tight like a fist when they are stressed.
When my fish chase each other thru a patch of xenia they leave a trail of "closed fists" behind them like a car driving thru a cornfield.
They will also close up and "wilt" at night when the lights are off.

They are very photosensitive so they will definitely have to adjust to your lighting.
I notice a huge diference in color, size, and activity between the patches I have growing in direct light, and ones that are in the shade.

At this point only time will tell if they are going to survive in your tank.
keep them in low to low-moderate flow, and in direct light until they either look like they did in the LFS or start to shrink up.
Unfortunately, once they start shrinking up and melting away I've never been able to bring one back no matter what I tried.

Good Luck.

 

[roka64]

His instructions are to float the bag for 45mins and then place the coral directly in the tank.

Yeah right, I wouldn't buy for that person!

Perhaps after a long drip it should be floated in the tank to equalize the temps again?

You know what, that is a great idea, I never though of that!

 

[mazilla]

my lfs says they have never drip acclimated ANYTHING in the last 30 years. he says they float everything. i still do a drip on more sensative pieces but it's only about an hour max. i also then float the bag and stab holes in it to allow cross flow for about 15 min. works so far...KNOCK ON WOOD.

 

[loyalrogue]

The Big Al's Aquarium Superstore next to my house drip acclimates all their new stock.
They've always got those 18gal rubbermaid tubs on drips after they get in a shipment.
That was actually the first place I ever saw a drip acclimation in person.
I've always used a cup in the past..., but that was FW.

I'm not sure I'd want to chance adding any other place's water to my tanks.

 

[STARFYRE]

I went to the LFS today and told them what happened. They agreed to exchange them for me. I had to work tonight so I told them I'd be back tomorrow. They have a different test kit than I do, so they're going to test my water also. I told them I drip acclimated them. They also think this may have been a factor. They told me the best method to use is the one I've always used with my FW tanks.....Float the bag 20 min, add small amounts of water every 5-10 minutes for the next 45 minutes, place item in the tank and throw out the bag water.
I will be using the latter method to acclimate my xenia tomorrow. Depending on what my levels read with their test kit, I may have them hold them there till my nitrAtes are lower. The test for my nitrAtes is hard to read, so I'm not sure if my NitrAtes are closer to 10 or 20.
I brought the xenia back to the LFS before I left for work. They were def still alive, just not pulsing.
We'll see what happens tomorrow. Thanx for all your help guys I'll check in tomorrow and let you know what happens.

 

[loyalrogue]

Awesome. Sounds like you have a really accomodating LFS there.
Sending you happy thoughts for the new xenia.

 

[STARFYRE]

Yeah, they offered me a job today. I'm gonna talk to them about it tomorrow. I'm in there enough to be considered a part-time employee. Might as well get paid for it.....

 

[ellisz]

xenia can be finiky. I have had it grow out of control and then it stops growing all together. I have rubberbanded xenia with good results. Just don't make it too tight and you will be fine. Most my tanks have a bit of flow so if they are not tied down they end up behind a rock or something.

 

[STARFYRE]

I picked up my xenia today. I acclimated it differently and for less time. They are still pulsing and seem to be doing good. I turned on the light and most of them balled up. So, I turned off the daylight bulbs and just left the actinics on. Most of them are fully opened and pulsing. I am so happy! I'm going to keep the blues on them for quite awhile tomorrow and then go back to normal lighting schedule on Saturday. Wish me luck!