Xenia taking over

[YHSublime]

I have some Xenia (I believe) that is taking over a rock, and growing into/onto other corals in it's wake. how do I handle this?

[jimlin]

they can take over a tank as well as your green star polyps. isolate the rocks they are mounted on to keep them from spreading.

[jimlin]

you can also cut them out which will take a couple of weeks before they grow back.

[armydoc]

Xenia is not a bad nutrient exporter if you trim it. Do you have a fuge with decent flow and light that you could move some pieces to and let it grow out there?

[jimlin]

will xenias grow under 6500 lights?

[Smorf]

will xenias grow under 6500 lights?

 

Yes, I put some Xenia down in my fuge temporarily to let it attach to some rocks and even after I moved it to the DT I have little Xenias sprouting in a few different places.

 

And I think my lights are 5500K

Edited February 3, 2013 by Smorf

[jimlin]

hmmm, i wonder what other corals will grow in regular 6500 lights. to me it seems like 6500 light resembles sunlight. wonder why we need higher k to grow corals in the aquarium.

[Smorf]

hmmm, i wonder what other corals will grow in regular 6500 lights. to me it seems like 6500 light resembles sunlight. wonder why we need higher k to grow corals in the aquarium.

 

I think it's purely cosmetic. PAR is more important than the Kelvin rating.

[jimlin]

I think it's purely cosmetic. PAR is more important than the Kelvin rating.

if that is the case you can probably just buy plant grow lights. they seem to be a lot cheaper than coral reef lights.

[Smorf]

if that is the case you can probably just buy plant grow lights. they seem to be a lot cheaper than coral reef lights.

 

Yea, my refugium light is the same bulb that is in most of the lights in my house.

[YHSublime]

I can move it, but it's a nice piece where it is now. It's growing fast. I can isolate it in my 45 when I get it setup, but will have to maybe trim in the meantime.

 

It's creeping up in front of the ricordea and headed downward, can I just peel those parts off the rock? Do I cut it off, or back? Never "trimmed" a coral before.

[YHSublime]

Xenia is not a bad nutrient exporter if you trim it. Do you have a fuge with decent flow and light that you could move some pieces to and let it grow out there?

 

Not yet, in a 14 gallon biocube atm.

[jimlin]

those are zoas

[YHSublime]

those are zoas

 

Yep, but I posted a bad picture with an even worse explanation. This should better show the Xenia expanding into the zoas.

[YHSublime]

[smallreef]

Yeah you can peel it, cut it, rip it off...just try to keep it from going into little bits or it will find a new home,lol

 

And feel free to bring some to the meeting

I know id like some!

[jimlin]

i see them now. i would just rip them out. some people use a razor to cut them out, but they will grow back if any flesh is left on the rocks. if you want them cone, either chip out the rock under it or cover it with a shell and it will die.

[jimlin]

by the way, i like xenias, if that were my tank i would just let the corals fight it out. would probably look more natural as well.

[YHSublime]

Yeah you can peel it, cut it, rip it off...just try to keep it from going into little bits or it will find a new home,lol

 

And feel free to bring some to the meeting

I know id like some!

 

I'll bring some your way, They're even growing on shells in the corner of my tank.

 

i see them now. i would just rip them out. some people use a razor to cut them out, but they will grow back if any flesh is left on the rocks. if you want them cone, either chip out the rock under it or cover it with a shell and it will die.

Thanks, good to know!

 

by the way, i like xenias, if that were my tank i would just let the corals fight it out. would probably look more natural as well.

Those Zoas in the front have become one of my favorites in there. They have doubled in size, and always hearty. Will the Xenia "choke" them out?

[smallreef]

Yeah...the xenia will shade them out if not choke them...

[Rosco's Reefs]

anyone have a name for that particular zoa? I have a bunch of it and no clue what it is...Thx in advance.

[AlanM]

Are those zoas or palys? I'm not expert, by any means, but those look bigger than I expect zoas to be.

[flooddc]

anyone have a name for that particular zoa? I have a bunch of it and no clue what it is...Thx in advance.

No expert, but I believed those are brown button paly! I had a bunch of them before.

[YHSublime]

Are those zoas or palys? I'm not expert, by any means, but those look bigger than I expect zoas to be.

No expert, but I believed those are brown button paly! I had a bunch of them before.

 

Either way I like them, and i have enough of the Xenia about!

[jaddc]

Jim is right on. And I agree -- I rather look at a Xenia carpet than bare rock.

 

I have a ton of pulsing Xenia in my tank. Every month or so I take tweezers and scissors (I got cheapo surgical grade from eBay -- prolly failed QC and someone is making a buck) and prune my tank. It keeps my show coral clear and it exports nutrients. At the same time, I also cut mushrooms and sometimes Zoas to free up a spot.

 

I turn off all pumps (to prevent the cuts from sailing away from you) I take the tweezers and disturb the Xenia to make them retract a bit, which makes it easier to get the stalk. I grab the stalk with my tweezers and then use them as a guide for the scissors (in between the rock and tweezers). A sure cut and the Xenia is in my tweezers. I get my tank clear in like 15 minutes. They grow back in a couple of weeks.

 

If I want the Xenia gone from an area, I first stuck back the stalk as above. Then I work my tweezers under the flesh and wiggle it around. The flesh will come free with patience. The Xenia don't hurt other coral, so I base my decision on aesthetics and the ability for other coral to get light.

 

HTH

Jeff