Are Xenias "Pests"?

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AMDPhenomX4

Aquarium Advice FINatic
Joined
Jan 3, 2009
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Location
Charlton, MA
Well I recently (a few hours ago) Aquired a ton of rock with a bunch of Xenia on it. Will it become a pest or will it spread slowly.
 
It depends on how you view it some view it as invasive pests .. while others like it .. I have some that has NOT spread hardly at all I have had if for 6 months.. It does like a dirtier tank ... and is a beneficial filter feeder .. If you see it spreading you can take it out and scrub it off or sell it back to your LFS for store credit (if they do that ) :D
 
Yes, it all depends if you can grow it well or not. :)
 
It can .. One thing I failed to say and TC hit on it was that some can not for what ever reason grow xenia :D
 
It depends on how you view it some view it as invasive pests .. while others like it .. I have some that has NOT spread hardly at all I have had if for 6 months.. It does like a dirtier tank ... and is a beneficial filter feeder .. If you see it spreading you can take it out and scrub it off or sell it back to your LFS for store credit (if they do that ) :D

I'd have to disagree about xenia liking a dirty tank. They almost demand a pristine tank to thrive. i have a lot of Xenia. I started with a little piece that i purchased. It grows nonstop, and I harvest it and sell it to my LFS every month or so
 
To me the only coral that is a "pest" is STAR POLYPS! They grow like WEEDS, and when they spread too far, it's difficult to "Trim" them back, You can't just peel them off the rock, it rips in tiny pieces. 1/2 my tank is Star polyps now and the only way I was able to controll them was to put an Anenome on each size of them, I call it "Natural" weed controll. The Anenome's happily sting the ends of the Star Polyps and keep them from spreading any more!

As for Xenia's They grow pretty fast in my system (I have a very clean tank, I have NEVER had Nitrates, Nitrites, Ammonia, Phosphate, etc. But they love my tank. If/when they grow/spread too far, I just pluck them off the rock and either throw them out, or sell them to the LFS. They come right off the rock, so no biggie.

-TheChad
 
I love my Blue Pumping Xenia. It grows extremely fast.....which I frag and trade in. If it didn't grow so fast I would still love it. But it and my Colt corals grow so fast they make great trade ins. I keep a small frag of each and I trade huge sections of them every 3-4 months or so.

My lfs loves them.
 
Here is my Xenia back in January

img_977426_0_123dc460a13d7a51987c13887b761775.jpg

This is today...
img_977426_1_b0f839512670749c275f90a8858a5bb0.jpg

In very Crystal Clear Water.... and no they do not bother Zoanthias, Well at least mine don't... I love my Xenia they are growning a little out of control but there is always ways of getting rid of them. You can post it on a local forum as Free Xenia or Sell them as $10 a Stalk... it's up to you on what you what to do with them... IMO...
 
Yes it is your own choice as to what you do with the harvest. Awesome you can sell it. Even better yours look happy if someone wants a stalk let em have it if they are being pesky.
 
Its more i dont want to get a Coral thats as bad as aptasia. The dude ripped a piece off a rock and polyps started to grow on the piece left. Worries me:p Also, The guy gave me a dieing frag of tolstool. It still has some polyps on it and has the shape of a kidney with the size of a kidney bean. Any ideas on what to do to save it?
 
If it still has polyps it's still alive I would put it in an area where there be some good flow going to it and maybe keep it on the bottom of the tank if it's getting to much light for now.... Or if you had a frag tank you can put it in there to nurse it back to health. JMO
 
This brings up a point I would like to make. Unwanted corals and algae should never and I mean never be disposed of by dumping into the ocean. These animals and plants can and will take over and kill everything if there is no natual control in the area that they are dumped. ie: fish that eat them,or any other natural preditory means. Please don't ever dump unwanted AQ stock into the ocean ever. Once in the AQ if no one wants it then freeze it, bag it and dispose of it. "Caulerpa" is a prime example. It is taking over the mediterainian and California. It is blamed on home Reefers dumping it When in truth it was Jacgues Cousteau's Reef display (a public AQ) that dumped it into the ocean. So in short, DO NOT DUMP INTO THE OCEAN.
tc
 
What led you to the dumping of nonnative fish from this thread??? What if i have some xenia thats just limp and silverish colored. Is it dead? And who throws away coral?
 
The fact that some were saying that it grows like a weed. and You would be surprised at what uninformed people do...........................
 
The fact that some were saying that it grows like a weed. and You would be surprised at what uninformed people do...........................
I said that from seeing folks who had it and it took over their tanks ..killing other corals off ;) ..I also said mine was slow to grow ...
As for it being limp give it a couple days to wake up and acclimate :D
If you dont see it waking up acclimating have some carbon and extra water on hand if you need it..
 
Should i just take it out and scrub the rock under FW to get it off if it doesnt perk up tomorrow? I dont want it to nuke my tank. Also whats the difference between xenia and anthelia?
 
They are both soft corals, the zenia have feathery tentacles as the anthelia have long slender tentacles and stocks. both kind of pulse in the currents.
 
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