Pulsating Xenia not pulsating.

[Jimmye4fish]

I just bought this 4 days ago. Before it was taken out of the tank it was pulsating very nicely. I got it home, positioned it in the tank and it took a little while to come back out. It pulsates occasionally and when it does its very slow. I've tried adjusting the flow and haven't seen a change. I've also checked the water peramiters and all seems fine. I've got my new TaoTronic lights on it and its about 1/4 power. Still not pulsating like it should. Does it normally have to acclimate itself to the tank other than the acclimation I did before putting it in? I've read a bunch of articles and none are very clear. Just wondering what some of the people on here think. I'm sure someone has dealt with this before and figured out something. Thanks!

 

[Andyden71]

I got a frag of pulsating Xenia givin off a friend about a month ago I got my wife to add it to the tank ad I wasn't at home at the time she didn't acclimatise it she left it in the bag and let it float in the bag in the tank then after a hour or so she took it out and put it on Top of my live rock and its doing very well

 

[Budda619]

I believe they dont pulse due to a high or moderate water flow. I moved mine where there is minimal water flow and they pulse fine now

 

[Austriaguy]

My xenia are in a low flow area and are growing well. Although once in a while they stop pulsing. They always start up again but they sometimes just stop... I also read that iodine may help. Good Luck

 

[Sniperhank]

It is currently being researched why xenia pulse. The last thing I read was looking into the fact that the pulsing assists with oxygenating the water around it.

 

[Jimmye4fish]

I moved mine so it has minimal water flow and it still opens and closes very slow. This thing is about 3/4 the size of a basketball. I'm thinking of turning my LED up a little and see if that helps. Still looks pretty, just not the same if its not pulsating.

 

[boosted_msp]

Seems like I remember them pulsating to stir up water. And they stop periodically everyday to "rest"

 

[Sniperhank]

That is correct.

 

[Gregcoyote]

I have had xenia for years. It is an interesting coral. I now have a big patch of it in my algae scrubber as it is excellent at grabbing bits of matter from the water stream. Lighting intensity seems to control how long it extends, but doesn't seem to have anything to do with pulsing. High turbulent flow does seem to cause more pulsing. Iodine levels will control its growth some. Too little and the colony can crash, but thats about all I can tell iodine has to do with pulsing. Xenia is problematic. It grows when you don't want it and dies when you do want it. It is very sensitive to the corals around it. It grows best when there are no other soft corals around, especially mushrooms.