Xenia releasing ammonia TRUE?

[pokmijn]

I just read about xenia taking in nitrate but also release ammonia, is this true?

 

[melosu58]

I would say not. LA says they feed by "They contain the symbiotic algae zooxanthellae from which they receive the majority of their nutritional requirements. Additional weekly feedings of micro-plankton or foods designed for filter feeding invertebrates are also needed."

 

[mr_X]

i wouldn't feed xenia anything. they do fine with just light. feed the fish if anything...let them poop in the water. plenty of food.

do any photosynthetic creatures release ammonia at any time? if the answer is no, i would think it's the same for xenia.
however, i noticed that xenia is tough to ship. if i stressed it by cutting a piece and tossing it in a bag, and i see that slime coming off of it, more times than not it arrived dead. a bag of brown stinky water is what showed up.
could that slime have ammonia in it?

 

[thincat]

Most animals would release ammonia if they die. Like the shrimp that we add to cycle a new tank. As most corals only have one openning to both eat and poop. I do think the uneaten food or waste from a coral is a level above ammonia it will get there in time.

 

[mr_X]

well, what if they don't die and they aren't fed? no ammonia then? how about the photosynthesis process?

 

[thincat]

They will release their waste into the tank, but not straight ammonia. The waste breaks down to ammonia and then the bacteria breaks it down a step further until you finally end up with Nitrogen gas. So some where between the there waste removal and the N is where the bacteria kicks in.
Photosynthesis Is done by the
Zooxanthellae that live in the coral. Not sure if Zenias use them or not.

 

[Jaybird]

I've seriously thought about putting a sign over my tank reading "Please don't feed the Xenia"

People complain about GSP being a pest but Xenia can be worse than the dreaded hair algae. You can try cutting it out of the tank but if you don't get every last bit off the rock it will re-grow. And then you have to watch that little pieces don't escape while cutting. And that's nothing compared to the smell your hands will have afterwards.

Bad stuff. Keep away from the Xenia.

I would say not. LA says they feed by "They contain the symbiotic algae zooxanthellae from which they receive the majority of their nutritional requirements. Additional weekly feedings of micro-plankton or foods designed for filter feeding invertebrates are also needed."

 

[mr_X]

you know, i used to have the same problem with xenia. i sold off rock after rock and replaced them with new ones...until one day, it all receded, and was never seen again. strange. i never knew what made it all disappear.

 

[Jaybird]

I've put a hammer coral near them to beat them back. The sweeper tentacles come out and the xenia wilts away. Much more effective than trying to remove it by hand.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

I would expect any living thing to add ammonia to a system - it's just a matter of "how much". I would guess fish would add more ammonia due to their mass, but with large coral colonies we'd probably be surprised how big their "mass" is when it comes to bioload. I think it was in Fenner's book that he said the biggest bioload in our tanks are actually our bacteria!

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

The reef I maintain has a large Red Sea Pulsing Xenia colony that I regularly frag and it grows back faster than I can sell it. I put in an ATS (Algal Turf Scrubber) which I was told would eventually result in their demise, because they like N and P and without them they will starve. I also heard that they have a limited lifespan or about 2 years, so unless you frag the parent it will eventually die and can release a toxin that will take down your tank. The RSPX do not have the stench that the Waving Hand / Anthelia do, and I think those are also in the Xenia family. Boy do I know what you are talking about. Reminds me of how my hands smell after cleaning a Northern Pike. Eww. The Anthelia don't seems to be affected by the ATS, but I did start over-feeding the tank to keep the Xenia from dying en mass and wiping out the tank.

The Xenia did recede for about a month after installing the ATS, but they're back strong again. So go figure.

 

[Jaybird]

That's interesting. I didn't know that they would release a toxin when they die. I figured that they would just receed and emit ammonia as they died.

 

[cmor1701d]

Stinky, slimy mess when you prune it. T-G it's all gone from my tank. LOL at how nice it was to watch that first little frag pulsing.

 

[mr_X]

mine all died off, and nothing else was effected.

 

[Jaybird]

I wish mine would all die off.

I was like Cmor when I first got it. It was cool to watch the little "hand" open and close. Then it spread....and spread....and spread. Worse than hair algae, in my opinion. At least there are thing that eat hair algae.

 

[mr_X]

lol..i used to have a camelback shrimp that ate xenia. at the time i was freaking out. little did i know he was a little angel sent straight from king neptune to aid me on my reefkeeping journey!

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

I will have to look into a camelback shrimp! Right now I'm fragging and selling for $3 a head...maybe I should start breeding and selling camelback shrimp to all the people who bought the Xenias...LOL

 

[Jaybird]

Three dollars a head? I would almost pay three dollars a head to be rid of it

I will have to research those shrimp

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

I did - they eat other softies and leathers also. It's a commonly misidentified as a peppermint shrimp with bad consequences. So I guess that would be a no for me.

 

[Jaybird]

I just googled it. It would not be an option for me either. I have enough problems keeping zoas. LPS and SPS with no problem but a lot of zoas just don't take in my tank