HELP !!!! Pusling Xenia Coral

sapgranth25

AC Members
May 25, 2006
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Sheffield uk
hi all,
i`ve just bought a frag of pulsing Xenia Coral which consists of five clumps on a piece of live rock & the person at the lfs also gave me a big clump that had no rock on it....

my question is about the clump without live rock i`ve used an elastic band to hold it to a piece of live rock as when this coral is touched it shrinks it was hard to get the band just on the mat/branch of this clump so i just put the elastic band rite throw the middle trapping the mat/branch & some of the pulsing branch as well is this method ok are will this not take off due to been held like this?
&
how long before the piece will stick to the live rock by its self?

many thanks
 
That method of attaching it is a little harsh, but Xenia is pretty tough, is the frag opening at all or is it still pathetic looking, like the freshly delivered look? If it is doing well then let it be, if it still looks bad you can try something else. The fish net or panty hose method works very well. Simply take the piece of rock and put it and the frag of Xenia in the panty hose and secure it. The Xenia will attach itself in about 2 weeks depending on water conditions.

You should make sure that this piece is not near heavy water flow, that will help it attach. Remember that Xenia like Iodine, while you should not dose Iodine without measuring your levels, if you don't dose Iodine now, it probably won't hurt to give it a single dose, following the directions on the container, during this period that you are trying to frag a piece of Xenia. I dose iodine in my tank once a week, and when I frag my Xenia I usually up it to twice a week during that period.

I personally use the fish net method. Get some fish net and put the piece of Xenia in it and tie off the end, the xenia will settle onto the net and eventually attach to it. Then you simply cut around the attached piece, leaving enough of the netting so that you can then attach the net to a piece of rock using a rubberband. The Xenia will then attach and you will be in good shape. I have done this several times and never had a problem. Go to Garf and check out the propogation section, they have a good article and tutorial there on this and other methods.

Good luck.
 
the Xenia that's been banded to the rock is opening ok & the stems are extending about an inch high look better than they did in the lfs shop floating around the tank.

The others that was on the liver rock are around 2 inch's high but i guess there much free`er than the banded one`s to extend easy`er & happy`er i will prob give them a chance like they are until they start to look bad then change them to the rock & fish net idea i`m guessing when there like that the stems don`t extend at all its more of a to get them to stick to the rock faster???
 
just an up date
The Pusling Xenia that i had to rubber band to a bit of live is doing very well i removed the rubber band last night after only 6 days & its stuck to the live rock so in a few months i should have a fair bit of Xenia hopefully
 
just an up date
The Pusling Xenia that i had to rubber band to a bit of live is doing very well ........so in a few months i should have a fair bit of Xenia hopefully

LOL....oh, you will! I just place a piece of live rock rubble so it touches a branch on an established colony, and I can frag it off in about two weeks......VERY prolific to the point of being a pest if you are not careful, but certainly a steady supply for trading frags! Enjoy!
 
isolate that stuff. it grows like aweed, and can irratate/sting cooler corals. i like it when people put it on the glass, but other than that, its an aquatic weed!
 
yeah. xenia grows pretty darn fast. it doesnt really sting other corals though. One of the few that isnt really harmful that way. however, it WILL grow over them. haha
 
I started off with a pretty darn small piece and it just keeps growing up the side. One day maybe I'll frag those off and sell them or something. ;)

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