Pulsing Xenia

[Unclebob]

Why are my xenias doing poorly ? For the first 3 weeks they were great it seemed, now they are fully constricted and look pitiful. I moved them towards light source as a last act of a desperate man, which also has good water flow. The water temp is at 78.5, is that too high ?

 

[LaWoWee]

The water temp is fine. What kind of lights do you have?

 

[obscurereef]

Maybe you have too much light. GSP like high light and high flow, but xenia like moderate flow & lighting.

 

[LaWoWee]

Maybe you have too much light. GSP like high light and high flow, but xenia like moderate flow & lighting.

I just found that out. I recently switch from 120w leds to 120w leds with optics and my xenia started dying. Then i put my old leds back on and the next day they already showed improvement.

 

[Gazwaz]

Xenia very hardy, put it on a rock and it will grow onto it and develop heads and branches. Mine almost dissolved fully, and i gave up on it. Then one day i found it stuck to a LR and starting to pulse. They tolerate nitrates, and dont like too much light. Place at a base of a rock and it will grow upwards on it

 

[Mrc8858]

Some people can keep it others can't. It's a mystery as to why it is like that but it is. I have mine in high ligh high flow (on my spray bar at the waters surface so like literrally 5" from a tek elite 6 bulb), low flow low light, and everything inbetween while still growing like wild fire in ever position of the tank. Here's a couple pics of it on my spray bar and underneath my overhang on the sand bed.

 

[obscurereef]

That's amazing that they don't melt or anything. They're higher than your SPS!

 

[Mrc8858]

That's amazing that they don't melt or anything. They're higher than your SPS!

Much lol.. I just moved earlier this month and being on the spray bar that means it was out of the water for nearly 5 hours on October first. I lost 3 stalks but about 8-10 more survived so ya.... It can live thru A LOT lol

 

[obscurereef]

That's insane! Crazy how hardy some of these organisms are!

 

[Holygral]

Xenia very hardy, put it on a rock and it will grow onto it and develop heads and branches. Mine almost dissolved fully, and i gave up on it. Then one day i found it stuck to a LR and starting to pulse. They tolerate nitrates, and dont like too much light. Place at a base of a rock and it will grow upwards on it

View attachment 127564

I have a 125 gallon tank ful, some are on the bottom and some are 6 inches under 2x250 MH, they adapt and thrive in very different conditions. But like other said the thrive or die. You can also have a tank full and make no changes to your setup and they will melt away in 2 weeks. Wait 6 months and they will thrive again.

 

[Unclebob]

Ok, thanks for all the advice, ill move them to bottom of tank out of direct light and see what happens.

 

[dlsrks]

Mine like the middle of the tank with medium water flow.

 

[Holygral]

Ok, thanks for all the advice, ill move them to bottom of tank out of direct light and see what happens.

Not necessarily your problem, they seem to thrive in low to high lighting and low to high flow. They thrive in a tank or they dont. I have them growing in my sump with almost no lighting and I have them 6 inches under 2x250 MH. I have noticed that the less light they have, the more branchy they are and the higher they are they seem fatter and fuller.

 

[LaWoWee]

Xenia are very fickle some need strong light and some dont. They get long and branchy in low light because they are reaching out for it. I had a 20gal that was being overrun by my xenia. They were short, plump and the hands were furry. There were some that split all the way up my back wall until they were on my filter intake and on the water surface under 120w leds.