Pumping Xenia

[JohnNLuc]

Well since I had realized it was way to cold in NY to have xenia shipped to me I checked with my LFS and sure enough they had gotten in a shipment of them. (pure luck seeing how earlier in the week i was complaining that noone around me carried them) anyway I picked up a peice yesterday brought it home and drip acclimated it for 3 hours I than placed it high in the tank with moderate water flow. All seemed well and it opened up within an hour and was pumping. Now today it is opened but has refused to pump. My question is what is lacking in my tank for the xenia to pump? I checked alk this morning and was a little low (6.8 dKH) but would that really make it stop pumping? TIA

 

[lando]

Xenia is still very much a mystery coral. We do not know much about them. They do great and spread all over one tank, and fail to thrive in another, identical, tank. Not sure why they pulse either. One theory is that it is a form of respiration. Another theory says it may be an attempt to create water flow around them to allow them to feed. Some stop pulsing for months, only to start again for no apparent reason. The use of GAC and a higher Ph are thought to promote the pulsing behavior. Iodine has also been noted to be important in the growth of these coral. I used the SeaChem Reef Pack for a couple of months. I can tell you that during this time I noticed a huge boom in my xenia groth rate. it went crazy. Since I have stopped using it, however, I have not really noticed a decrease in growth or pulsing. Strange coral. Good luck...Lando

 

[scuba_steve]

have read also they do better with skimmerless systems go figure right ! also have seen people using them instead of macro algae in their fuges
landos right on some do great some dont has happened to me ! had a batch from reefrunner that grew like crazy lost them to tank overheated so bought a new batch and it never grew :-/

 

[JohnNLuc]

As long as there opened I guess i'm not doing anything wrong. Thanks for the information guys.

 

[lando]

Keep us posted. You can try putting in DTs or Coral Plankton by liquid life to see if it makes a difference.

 

[PatM]

Some varieties of xenia, as I have learned from experience, cease to "pump" when pH is low. I had a low pH problem awhile back and as soon as I'd hit 8.0 my xenia would stop "pumping". They do also love lots of water flow, mine grow straight at the powerheads until it blows them back. I've also heard that xenia requires a stable Iodine reading, however I do not add iodine, except for whats in Seachems Reef Plus, and I do not recommend adding anything that you don't directly test for. They do also take time to get used to a tank, mine didn't seem to grow a bit for the first few months I had it, then one day it just took off and seems to be growing at a rapid rate now.

 

[JohnNLuc]

I add ESV's freeze dried marine phytoplankton every other day. And Pat I tested my PH and its at a steady 8.2. Mine is in a moderate water flow maybe I will put it in a little big higher flow to see how that helps. Aside from pumping they look healthy. Swaying back and forth in the current and totally extended. As far as the iodine I guess in a week if they are still not pulsing I will buy an iodine kit and dosing it

 

[clowninround]

When I first got mine it stopped pulsing for like a week, then it came back after a week. I gave some to a friend and he said it was doing poorly for about a week also, and yesterday he told me it was multiplying. May just be an adjustment period.

 

[JohnNLuc]

clowin I hope thats all it is. That is why I am going to be patient and wait a week or two if i still see no results I am going to look into dosing iodine and such. But until than patience is the key.