Pulsating Xenia looking bad

[revhtree]

Yesterday, my pulsating xenia, which is only two stalks, started looking really bad. They are all shriviled up, and the base is very skinny now. I moved the rock they were attached to, to a different flow area, and when I did a number of their poylps fell off. I dont know.

 

[steve-s]

Be careful how close they are to other corals. Xenia is easily affected by other coral chemicals. They have a good defense of their own but is rarely used and often not a match for more aggressive corals.

Xenia also has the ability to move somewhat, not really "walk" but attach it's stalk to an adjacent mount and let go of the old one. When doing so the stalk will generally become quite thin and reedy. The thin stalk can also be a sign of too little light or too low in the tank.

Losing polyp tips can be from just about anything. From fish nipping to high DOC or nitrate. A few water changes will usually perk them up if that's the case. They also respond poorly to imbalanced chemistry. Do not fall prey to the high alkalinity or iodine additions. Both are barely even anecdotaly supported.

Cheers
Steve

 

[revhtree]

Thanks Steve. They were up high on the tank, and not to close to any other corals. I am not adding any suppliments, except some zooplex once a week. I will do a water change. Thanks!

 

[revhtree]

Also Steve, I had a post about a poylp colony that I got from Liveaquaria. When I got the colony it had some white, thick, spots on it. It has spread to about 1/3rd of the rock. What can I do to stop it. Also I just remembered that the other day I place it closer to the xenia. And I have been occasionally been blowing the white stuff off with a syringe. The white stuff comes right back.

Could this be the problem with the xenia?

Also, what can I do to stop the white stuff on the poylps? Its like a cancer spreading.

here is a pic of the colony
http://aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=33587&highlight=
Thanks.

 

[steve-s]

Could this be the problem with the xenia?

Could be but I doubt it. As Mojoreef said, it usually remains with the coral colony it's affecting. I had a similar issue with violet/green/pink zoo's which almost destroyed the whole colony. The only thing I could do was frag (break) the rock of an unaffected area which prevented the spread. Nothing too close to the fungus should be fragged so be sure there is a well defined gap between the healthy polyps and the dieing ones.

You are actually fighting a war on two fronts. The affliction is smothering the coral causing die off. The die off will affect the health of the adjoining polyps making them easier targets for the fungus to get a stronger foothold. Dips are just as damaging to most zoo's as the problem your treating so quite honestly it's usually much better to cut your losses and try getting a few good frags in hopes of saving at least one or two.

Bear in mind that if you can save even a small portion, it's a successful venture. Zoanthuds will regrow quite easily under the right conditions.

Cheers
Steve