View Full Version : Xenia spp.
Hi All
Week No.2 of this thread.
Lets see LOADS of replies, :devil:
***** Coral Of The Week *****
Wk.No.2 " Xenia spp. "
Common Name: " Pulse Corals, Pumping Xenia, Pump-end *
* * * * * * * xenia, Waving Hand Polyps".
Featured In: " The Reef Aq.Vol.2."
* * * * * * Sprung/Delbeek.
* * * * * * * Page 251.
*
* * * * * * "Corals A Quick Ref.Guide".
* * * * * * *Julian Sprung.
* * * * * * * Page 185.
Please post any information you have, in relation to your experience in keeping this coral.
Such as Conditions Favoured:
ie: Temperature, Water chemistry, Flow Rates,
* Lighting, Positioning, etc.
Also other topics such as,
Agressiveness, Hardiness, Colour Morphs, Reproductive Methods, Feeding Of, Fragging details, Shipping/Transportation details, Scientific References, Related Corals, Pictures for Reference/Identification.
Here are a couple of spp. I have in my tank.
http://wsphotofews.excite.com/023/b8/Kv/eO/W775931.jpg
http://wsphotofews.excite.com/024/Xt/iM/N1/R642212.jpg
Brian
:wink:
(Edited by IrishReefer at 10:48 pm on May 27, 2001)
(Edited by IrishReefer at 11:20 pm on May 27, 2001)
I had a very large specimen of Pulse Xenia that Danny from Watford got for me last year. When i first got it about 3-4 heads were on it.
I kept it about 7" below a 250 w 10K MH with good flow.
During a period of about 4 months it grew to about 12 heads in total over adjacent rocks and up the back glass of the tank. I took several pieces of it back to Danny which he had in his display tank.
Unfortunatly not long after this they both seemed to go into slow decline. Some say a decline is brought on by a low pH or lack of Iodine.
The most used idea/excuse seesm to be that the colony grows so big it ends up being not able to support itself in the system......ie using up all available nutrients. My theory is that a worm(s) stressed mine out to the point of death......i have a few pics of it which i'll follow up with later.
Because they grow fast alot of reefers in the US *bang on about how they become a "weed",mine wasn't under ideal conditions obviously so i can see where the weed idea comes into play.
"Agressiveness" Mine seemed OK inthe presence of other corals and vica versa.......i would have thought if other corals were to blame for it crashing it would have happened way before it did.
"Hardiness" As mentioned ,did OK for several months then crashed.....many say this and my exp backs this up. As you can see they dont all do it and it all down to the right conditions being provided.
"Colour Morphs" most of the xenia ive seen are similar to the ones shown. You can get some nice blue/green varieties but are rare over here and expensive for the size.
"Reproductive Methods" I first noticed small bumps appearing in the bases of the colony which then "reached" out to touch nearby rock......from here they attached and grew separate colonly's
"Feeding Of" They are filter feeders....the pulse action is for A) keeping a supply of clean water round the coral(they produce a #### of alot of "snot" when stressed out) & B) thus bringing "cleaner water" to the colony a constant supply of food they can feed on.
"Fragging details" Mine reproduced as mentioned...when i first got it one or two pieces fell off in the bag,i tried to attach them but they produced so much "snot" they were difficult to hold......let alone attach to rock.
"size" My Xenia was very large by normal standards,the base was over an " thick and most of the pieces stood 4-5" tall. Xenia Elongata has long thin strands (hence the name) but ive not seen it as long as my xenia.
I'll try to find some pics now:shocked:
Nathan, the peices i had in areas of slow flow seemed to pulse more ? Also, do yours produce much "snot" when handled ?
(Edited by LPSman at 10:40 am on May 28, 2001)
OK.....the offending worm!
http://wsphotofews.excite.com/016/wg/kE/wC/dI62456.jpg
It seems to attach itself to the base of the coral and work up to the polyps,weaving in ad out but never letting go of its anchor point at the base.
They move incerdidbly fast when you try to catch them retreating back under the coral where they spend the day.I have only ever seen them out at night.
I think Doh had one of these once too ?
(Edited by LPSman at 10http://www.ultimatereef.net/ibv3/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif2 am on May 28, 2001)
Hi All
Great replies Guy's:smile:
Keep em comin:eek:
One small, but I thought interesting observation was, in relation to my first pic, of the Red Sea Xenia.
Whilst adhering a frag a couple of weeks ago I accidentially knocked it over ( dont u just hate when that happens:fmad: ).
Anyway I was intrigued to see a reasnobly large commensal crab scurrying for cover across the upturned xenia. It was THE EXACT colour of the xenia, off white cream colour, fascinating to see.
That xenia I have had for a year at the front of the tank and have never seen this crab, amazing as I do as most of us do, spend ages peering at every thing that moves in every nook & cranny.
Anyway lets see more replies, lets keep this cookin:devil:
Cheers
Brian.
Hi,
I bought a pulsing Xenia yesterday afternoon (Friday 1st June 2001) and I was wondering how long I should expect to wait before it starts to pulse?
As of Staurday morning the arms seem well extended but there is no pulsing action as yet. Looks good in the medium water flow that it is in.
Can you all sugest a good alround additive/food for softies as I would like to increase the growth of my Xenia and mushrooms?
Cheers,
Cam.:biggrin:
Really I'd expect it to be pulsing straight away, unless the move from the LFS to your tank was long. Give it a few days, and if it isn't pulsing try putting it closer to the lights (if possible). Also, apparently they only pulse if the pH is high enough (8.3).
Cam was it pulsing in the LFS? what lighting you got/they got? i found mine never really pulsed under NO tubes:(
Three years ago I propagated several different types of Xenia. I would sell the frags to local stores of support my reef keeping habit. The demand was high in the beginning for these frags as they are not usually available through commercial sources. I usually recieved ฤUS for each frag so I made a killing. I bought most of my current equipment through the proceeds of these sales.
I sold frags to 4 local stores within driving distance hoping to spread out the supply a bit. Within a years time I had saturated the market with frags of all but the rarest of the frags. I ended up throwing out handfulls of Xenia because I had nowhere to sell them. The stuff was taking over my softie tank and became a nusance.
I sold off all of my colonies of Xenia to a local grower when I converted my smaller tanks into a large SPS reef. Now the stuff is back in high demand with many new people entering the hobby.
If you have colonies of this coral and are thinking of propagating, I highly suggest it. You can sell these to local stores and recover at least some of the expenses on your reef tank.
Conditions Favoured
Moderate to high light intensity ( 3"-6" from 175w halide). High nutrient/Dissolved organic matter. High alk and ph. Iodine additions have been said to improve pulse rate but I have not seen this true in my case. Alk level seemed to have a greater impact on pulsing rate for me, especially in the blue and smithsonian varieties.
Temperature
78F-82F Will withstand higher temperature for short periods of time but it can't withstand prolonged high temperatures.
Water chemistry
I have found better success with high ph and alk ( 8.4 ph and 12dkh)
Flow Rates
Moderate flow, just enough to make the polyps sway like wheat being blown by the wind. Stronger water motion keeps the polyps from expanding fully. Slower water motion causes slime to build up causing bacterial infections and sometimes causing crashes.
Lighting, Positioning
Moderate to high light intensity ( 3"-6" from 175w halide). High in the tank and preferably on the tip of a large rock. This serves two purposes. 1) allows even flow around the entire colony. 2) Keeps the colony from spreading to other rock surfaces and encroaching on other corals.
I have also seen these corals do well under four 3' VHO bulbs over a 75 gallon tank.
Agressiveness
This coral can rapidly overgrow and choke out SPS corals. This chemicals ( turpids ) in it's mucus have caused several of my SPS corals to retract polyps, green kenya tree coral to retract polyps and a yellow fiji leather to close for two days. The the mucus from this coral contains a pretty nasty chemical punch. Blowing the mucus off of other corals and passivly running carbon seemed to reduce the duration of the reaction.
Hardiness
When acclimated, this coral is so hardy it becomes a weed and quickly propagates. This is of course assuming the tanks parameters are stable and it's requirements are met. It requires frequent pruning in order to keep it's polyp density down. When allowed to grow unchecked the colony chokes itself out, often causing a crash.
I have found this coral to do great in tanks that are high in nutrients (Lagoonal). It does well in tanks that support corals from the same biotope (Leathers, colts and mushrooms).
In tanks that are highly skimmed and low in nutrients ( SPS ), the coral does well for a short time and then crashes when it's nutrient needs can't be met.
Keep in mind that in captivity this coral's lifespan is 1-2 years. In the wild, it's lifespan is 3-4 years. This could also be the cause of many "crashing" events.*
Colour Morphs
I have grown white, pink, red, brown and blue. X. elongata, Smithsonian, Red Sea , Pom-Pom & Cespitularia.
Reproductive Methods
I have seen this coral propagate by lateral fusion and budding. It tends to grow bumps near the base and then lay on it's side. The bump then attaches to the rock and it moves to the new location. A new coral will sprout from the base at the old location. *
I have also seen stalks detach from the lower shaded areas of the colony to float in the tank. When the detached stalk rested in a crevise it quickly attached.
Feeding Of
This coral has an under developed gut which doesn't digest food. It recieves most of it's nutrition through absorption and photosynthesis. The pulsing of its polyps is *a way of increasing water flow around the coral to increase respiration and gas exchange. This increased water flow over the colony *also increases nutrient uptake.( Borneman, Corals pg. 151)
*This coral is found in great abundance in the wild in areas that have high levels of organic matter (lagoons, sewage outfalls and areas where rivers dump into the ocean). Therefore the best environment for this coral is a place with high light and a high dissolved organic content in the water.
Fragging details
I removed the mother colony from the main tank and placed it in a bowl of tank water. I fragged mine by cutting off a stalk about 2 cm from the base. The mother colony and frags were then rinsed in a seperate bowl of tank water to remove excess mucus( this stuff stinks worse than skimmate!).
I sharpen the end of a toothpick and shove it through the frag half way up the stalk. I rubber band the frag to a piece of coral rubble. The frags usually attaches within 24 hours but I wait a week before removing the toothpick. Twist the toothpick before removing to avoid ripping the frag from the rubble.
I placed the frags in an area of moderate-low flow until they are attached to avoid tearing the frag. Once attached, I place them in the same current as the mother colony. This was all done in the same tank to avoid shock to the frag. Carbon was passively run to avoid harmful chemicals released by the Xenia.
Shipping/Transportation details
This coral does not ship well at all. It rapidly smothers itself in it's own mucus coat. I have found it to withstand short shipping time pretty well ( under 4 hours). Washing the frags off with tank water several time before transporting them will remove the majority of the slime from the coral and reduce stress. This problem with surviving shipping is the reason why local hobbiests have become the suppliers for most LFS.
Scientific References
"Aquarium Corals- Selection, husbandry and natural history"
Eric Borneman
Pages 150-153
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Nemo
Hey Nemo
How are Ya, Havent seen your name in a while.
Was getting worried about ya :wink:
Great Reply !!.
I, as stated above, currently have two spp. of Xenia, as pictured above. ( Had X.Elongata, untill it got caught up in a P.Head)
One is Red Sea Xenia and other is an unidentified encrusting spp.
Nemo. Did you find you got the same aggressive colonisation with all the spp. of Xenia you have kept ?.
I have had the Red Sea Xenia for about a year, and found that altough it is thriving/healthy, it reproduces very slowly.
Also the Encrusting spp. , got whilst in NY a couple of months ago, seems to be similar in relation to same.
Any pics of your Xenia, love to see the blue colour Morph.
Cheers:shocked:
Brian.:biggrin:
IrishReefer,
Work has had me pretty tied up lately so I haven't had time to post. Hopefully things have settled down a bit and I can keep up with the board.
The elongata is by far the most agressive when it comes to rapid growth. The red sea grows much slower than any of the others I have grown. It also pulsed at a much higher rate than the others. Because of those two factors it was one of my favorites and very popular with the LFS. I could never grow this stuff fast enough for the demand.
A friend of mine still propagates the red sea Xenia in an ingenious way. He placed the colony against the glass and allowed it to encrust the whole side of the tank. He then uses a razor blade to peel off individual heads to attach to rock rubble. By having a sheet of tissue to place on the rock it attached very quickly and looked like it had been growing there for ages. One whole side of his tank pulses, very neat looking.
To speed up the propagation of the Red sea you can cut them with scissors. I used stainless steel surgical scissors to cut some of the stalks in half ( Vertically). Don't over do it, only cut 1 or 2 stalks a week. Each one of the stalks will heal and form a new full head. Once they get to sellable size you cut off one of the heads and leave the other.
I have some pictures of my Xenia colonies somewhere burnt on CD. I'll post them when I dig them out.
Nemo
I only have elongata, and havn't seen other species anywere for sale. Where can I get some nice species? Anyone want to sell me some?
i have 2 types of pulse,red sea and elongata.both are situated at the top of the tank and have a good flow.originately these were growing under a combination of 6x t8 tubes.now they r under 150w 10k halides and with iodine additive have taken on a even bigger growth.both frag incredably easy and attatch to anything that gets too close.good for coverage but a bugger to control.
have seen this stuff for sale at £20+ for a frag-incredable as most people i know can't give the stuff away.
I bought a very small frag from someone on here, kev I think? .....
I now (around 2.5 months later) have a carpet of white pompom pulsing away (about 11 inches by 4 inches) growing on smashed up rock.
Its growing at the bottom of the tank about 16 inches from 4 t5 tubes (2 marine white, 2 blue).
The tank is only 4ft x 15 x 15 and only has live rock and an external filter for rowa / polyfilter.
I didn't know if it would last in this environment, and really just wanted a small frag to test.
To propagate I do nothing, it just spreads, even to the glass.
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