Is this normal?!

[go4broke44]

i recently purchased a pumping xenia. now i know that with anemones, they tend to be fully extended at times, and at other times fully retracted. is this the same with xenia? when i first put it in, it opened up and pumped as it is supposed to, but now all the polyps are closed up, and it seems to be sagging over to the side, any insight?

[Telco Guy]

Xenia will do this for various reasons. Mine will often close up at night. But they may close during the day if they are bothered by a fish or other critter. But, this could also be a sign that they are not happy. What are your water parameters? How long have you had them in the tank?

[Doctor_Reef]

Ditto's and same question....And did you get them locally or did you get them shipped to you???

[go4broke44]

i bought them locally, and they seemed to be doing quite well in the store's tank. today some of the polyps have opened, but most of them are still closed up. maybe its just stressed from being put in a new tank and needs time to adjust? this is my first real coral purchase, other than my richordia, but they seem pretty easy to please.
this morning i did like a 10% water change, to maybe replenish some of the nutrients in the tank. everything else in the tank is thriving, so im puzzled as to why the coral seems to not be doing so well

[Doctor_Reef]

Xenia either love the tank they are in or don't...they don't ship well and they can take some time to acclimate...I wouldn't worry about them just yet....Keep us informed....

I frag my Xenia about once a week…they will take over a tank…when they start to take off…here are a couple shots…

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v406/RLeversee/300Gal/X081405b.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v406/RLeversee/300Gal/X081405a.jpg

[go4broke44]

heres a shot of mine right now, should i trim off that back section and try to place it somewhere else in the tank, or just leave it as is?

[Doctor_Reef]

I would just let it acclimate...One question...how much water flow do you have in that spot??? How long has the tank been set up??? And what are your water parameters??? They do like to be in moderate water flow areas...

[go4broke44]

theres pretty good water circ in the whole tank, i have an aqua-clear 300 running, along with a 125 powerhead, and a small electric pump from a waterfall desk decoration thing. i figure around 500 gph total maybe, probably alittle less than that, but in the area of 50x turnover.

today it is looking alittle better i guess, the polyps have extended, although most of the little "hands" are still closed up. it seems to be standing up better today though.

the tank has been set up for probably 3-4 months now

[Doctor_Reef]

Ok...just a waiting game at this point....Sounds like it is improving some!!!

[CZ]

Xenia is tricky. Some people cant stop its growth while others cant keep it alive.

My tank was growing fine until I increased my Kalk dosing. Now its all closed up for months. Was it a coincidence? They act differently in each persons tank.