Xenias on the decline

[AndrewT]

my xenias were doing great for the last month or so, but as of late ive noticed they arent pulsing anymore and they seem to be declining in health. How can i get them to plump back up? any sugestions? also ive got some turbo tiger snails that seemed to have reproduced. Ive noticed that i went from about 3 to 30 in a few weeks. how offten do these guys reproduce?

[GKarshens]

In order to figure out what is wrong with your Xenia we need more info. Have you run a full battery of tests? Has anything changed in your maintenance?

[AndrewT]

In order to figure out what is wrong with your Xenia we need more info. Have you run a full battery of tests? Has anything changed in your maintenance?

All test are in line my nitrates are a little high, but other than that everything is in line. They were great for the first couple of weeks but now they seem to be declining in health. No changes in maintenance. What should i be feeding them i usualy feed them pytoplankton twice a week and reefplus once a week. When i feed the mysis to my fish I make sure to let some of my corals some as well... any ideas.

[GKarshens]

Well that explains the high nitrates. Most corals can't eat mysis except some LPS corals like candy cane or Acans and they usually only eat after lights out when their tentacles are out. Also Phyto if overdosed can lead to excess nutrients. All that said, that is probably not the problem with the Xenia. They tend to like dirtier water. I have heard of them melting away in tanks that are highly skimmed and very low in nutrients. Sometimes corals are confusing. I used to grow Ricordea like crazy. Then one day they all started to melt away.

[AndrewT]

Hmm... I dont think im over skimmed i have a small red sea prizm... no refugium. How many ml of phytoplankton should i dose and how often should i dose? I have heard that dosing phytoplankton can cause problems in the tank. Ive also heard that a cap full of vodka will plump up corals.... is there any truth to this? Ive seen several forms on the topic???????

[GKarshens]

Personally I would only dose Phyto if you have critters that rely on it like a filter feeding cucumber. I have only used phyto in the past when raising a baby clam. The Vodka dosing is used to reduce nitrates. Others have also used sugar. I would not try it without EXTENSIVE research as to how to do it and why. Also the effects it can have on your tank.

[AndrewT]

I see I see... Yeah i was told when i first started my tank that i needed to dose phyto in my tank because of my feather dusters and my clam. so what should I be feeding my corals then if im not using phyto? Also i wanted to ask once a tank is established how long does coraline algae take to start growing? I have a bit growing but its on my filters and a little on my glass. Is the coraline a sign that the tanks in good shape. How can I accelerate growth? I was told to use b-ionic, but no luck yet

[Bill B]

my xenias were doing great for the last month or so, but as of late ive noticed they arent pulsing anymore and they seem to be declining in health. How can i get them to plump back up? any sugestions? also ive got some turbo tiger snails that seemed to have reproduced. Ive noticed that i went from about 3 to 30 in a few weeks. how offten do these guys reproduce?

I am still very new to the hobby and both of my tanks are still trying to meet a nice balance, but in my personal limited experience the single most important factor for xenias is water flow. The more they get the more they like it. I am still trying to find that 'perfect' spot where they are happy most of the time and yet not looking like they are in a hurricane because the current is so strong. Another wild shot would be water temperature. I have had to adjust my heaters up a little now that the days and house is not so hot during the day. Just a couple of thoughts.

Bill

[sawbones]

Iodine may be the key to the decline of your xenia. They seem to require it more than other corals, and mine declined from 50 stalks and selling to LFS down to 1 stalk before I recognized the difference in what i had been dosing and how much I'd cut back. I'd also check magnesium. And if you lose them all, let me know, as I once again have a ton of it.