Xenia control

[nicksgirl]

My Xenia has grown off the original piece of rock and brached over to connect onto a large rock nearby. I want to separate the two rocks by cutting the Xenia branch that connects the two. Can I just reach in the tank with a sharp edge and do that? If so - can I use surgical scizzers?

I'm afraid of hurting the animal and I don't want to contaminate the tank with a lot of mucus but taking out the rock pair will be no small task either. What should I do?

TIA

 

[lando]

Use a scaple or very sharp scissors. the xenia will be fine. You may consider putting a small chunck of LR close to the xenia and allow it to "climb" onto it. take the spread xenia and rock to the LFS and work out a little trade.

 

[Hara]

I cut mine with scissors quite often. I then rubber band the pieces to rubble and do just like Lando has suggested. Sure helps defray the cost of salt buckets!

 

[nicksgirl]

That's Cool! and I need salt too!!!
Hee hee.

 

[nicksgirl]

Quick Update.
I have cut the Xenia as instructed. (It hurt my heart to do this and to see the little pulsing branches suddenly stop and willow away.. argh!) But after the initial shock of the injury, the prognosis looks good.

The newly divided piece will (I think) easily survive. Within minutes of the cutting, the tight fists of each branch began tiny grasping movements again. A bit later, the stalk from which these branches emerge seemed to regain some tensil strength. Instead of laying there limp, it began lifting up and looking alive again.

So I am anxious to see what the animal will look like after a full night's rest. I think it will be okay very quickly. When the lights come on - if there are any surprises, I'll get back to you!

 

[fish4brains]

How did you reattach the frag?? Rubberband?

 

[nicksgirl]

I severed a branch that had leaned off my original frag and attached itself to a nearby rock. So rubber bands were not necessary. The base of the original stalk is still on the original rock I I am hopeing it regenerates.) But a large section of the animal which was up higher on the stalk had grabbed hold of a nearby rock, just by leaning over and contacting it for a couple of days. So I servered that branch below the contact point and all seems to be well.

By the way -
Seeing how well this worked, I have pushed 2 other smaller rocks under the edges of other over-hanging Xenia.. I think they are already attached too!

 

[MT79]

Its nice to be able to give something back that will help hobbiest and possibly the reefs themselves. I just got $40 for an sps frag yesterday, makes for a good day at the LFS! Congratulations

 

[lando]

Its nice to be able to give something back that will help hobbiest and possibly the reefs themselves. I just got $40 for an sps frag yesterday, makes for a good day at the LFS!

Totally! It is always nice to buy/sell aqua-cultured animals whenever possible. IMHO, it is part of being a responsible aquarist.

 

[nicksgirl]

I traded my Xenia frag today for a some kind of beautiful blue-green polyps... It is supposedly from Africa but who knows?... Now I'd like to move these polyps from the frag rock onto some of my big rock. Will they jump over by themselves, sort of like the Xenia?
Any advice?

 

[MT79]

Attach the frag where you like it and the polyps will spread to the surrounding area. They can grow aggressively, but not like xenia. It will take alittle more time. Keep in mind when polyps, as well as xenia, start growing on your main rock structure, they can be difficult to remove and can over take the area and eventually the tank.