Xenia's failing

P

phinnies dad

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Apr 7, 2007
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One of the first really abundant corals to take off were my Xenias. Over the past 2-3 days one stalk at a time they seem to be dying. They all migrated to the top of the rock ther were growing on and seem to be shading the ones at the very bottom. I know that it's time to replace my lights, but have lowered the fixtures closer to the tank above them in the meantime. I guess you could say that they are wilting. They seem to be drying up and no longer pulse, they just seem to droop. This morning it actually looks better than yesterday but I remember when a LFS I deal with seemed to have plague running through his tanks and wiped out his entire population of Xenia. He had no explaination for this and it never harmed the other tank inhabitants but I do not want to have this same issue. Any help or suggestions? Thanks, PD

wilted xenia.JPG
 
please list you water qualities for better help. also u said u got new lighting or u are getting new lighting? if u got new lighting sometimes it can cause corals to wilt if the original lights were so old that there was a great change in heat and spectrum. also the reverse can work as well if the light is to old it may jut not be enough. usually xenia will move usually if covered so i feel that it is something besides shading.
 
I've read a lot of people have had trouble with xenia. It either grows like weeds, or it apparently lasts a few months and then dies.

And most of the time when I hear of it being a problem, the person has thriving colonies of other corals in the same tank.
 
Here's my experience with the rise and fall of the Phoenix(XENIA).
First they do much better at lower temps of 77F than 84F. Check your temps.
They also are dependant on nutrients. Check your nitrates with a low range test kit. If on a low range test kit the levels are below 5ppm they may be starving.
They also prefer bright light,IME, so try to give them a good spot with a little slower flow.
They are very susceptible to crashing colonies when temps change more than 4F or some other water parameter has changed.
They prefer supplements of iodine. Dose this if you haven't yet but follow the directions because this is a heavuy oxidant that should not be OVERDOSED.
If you have a fuge/sump you may want to place them in there and see if they rebound. The nutrient level may be slightly higher do to the accumalation of detritus in the sump.
HTH,Rich
 
Ok some stuff that caught me by surprise and slipped through the cracks. First, Thanks everyone for your insight. My phosphates, nitrates, nitrites, and ammonia were all zero, I will need to pick up a low PH kit today, however my high PH has dropped to 7.9 which I hadd'nt caught till this morning. I added a PH buffer for a quick fix and will be addressing a permanent solution today. This may not be the total cause but definately has had an impact, I've been dripping the buffer for 2 hours now and the Xenia population seems to be returning to their normal behavior. The color is returning as well as the pulsing action and they seem to be rehydrating to their normal size and shape. Over the next hour the MH will turn on and I will get more of an idea as to how they are doing but they already seem 75% better than at 6am today. I'm figuring it will take at least a few days for them to fully recover if this was the problem, but I feel hopeful for now. I can't believe the PH slipped by me like that, could adding 3 large gorgonians helped to lower the PH that much over a weeks time? The MH"s are scheduled to be changed in June and the PC'c in August so they should still be plenty strong. My other Xenia colony on the far side of the tank is at the bottom of the tank and is still doing fine so I'm thinking it's not the lights. The MH's went on 10 minutes ago and things seem to be getting back to normal. Anyway thanks again and I will keep posted.
PD
 
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I feel MH's should be changed no later than 8 months, 6 months if they are 20K's or Hamilton bulbs because the par drops faster in these situations.


pH does not concern me as problem but may have been issue.
I am curious what the alkalinity readings are in DKH or meq/l
Also calcium and Magnesium levels.

Magnesium may of been problem. It affects the buffer ability to balnce pH, Ca, Alk. LMK, Rich
 
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