xenia dying?

[eartaker]

I woke up today and found my xenia looking like this. Nothing in the tank has changed Any thoughts or ideas? I already have done a 20% WC and replaced the filter sock and carbon. temp 77 sg 1.026 ph 8.1 am 0 rite 0 rate 1 alk 9 cal 450

 

[senji]

try a coral dip any chance something touched it that's poisonous like anenomie or hydnophora. or whats are the neighboring corals maybe chemical warfare.

 

[eartaker]

ill do a dip, I guess maybe my RBTA could have came down and touched it.

 

[DTECH07]

When was you last WC before the 20%? Is there ANYTHING you've done or not different in the past 5 days (add equipment, change chemicals, power outage) ANYTHING that comes to mind? How's your Husbandtry been on your tank?

 

[eartaker]

honestly nothing has changed other than increasing the light on time by 1 hour and adding 3 SPS coral on the other side of the tank. I have not feed any different, buffered anything different. Last WC was 1-2 weeks ago.

 

[kpiotrowski]

maybe water is too clean?

 

[josh88]

How close and how often does your RBTA move. I know when I placed my xenia to close to my torch I watch a tenticle from my torch reach off and rip a head off the xenia. Oh man for Like two weeks my xenia looked really bad. I really thought they were gonna croak. But they seem fine now

HTC EVO

 

[Holygral]

Xenia's can thrive in your tank for months or years and then just die off. It has happened to me and it does happen with no changes at all. Once they start to go down hill, they go rapidly and there seems to be nothing you can do to stop them. Just wait 6 months and try again. Over the years I have had it happens a few times. 2 years ago I lost a whole tank full in 2 weeks, waited a year and now they are pest proportions again. And mine are near and sometimes touching BTA and no problems, along with a infestation of Ricordea that are also in pest amounts that are also intertwine with the Xenias

 

[josh88]

That's crazy that they do that? Well best of luck with them. Hope they pull threw

HTC EVO

 

[IPisces]

doesnt xenia thrive on nitrates?

Like kpiotrowski says, it could be your system is maturing and it doesnt have enough nitrates to support it. It happened to me too in my 75 gal tank. It just all disappeared almost over night.

 

[josh88]

Oh that's right, they do live on nitrates, that's why they stink so bad out of water lol
HTC EVO

 

[Holygral]

I have a tankful and my nitrates are always under 5

 

[N1Husker]

I have my xenias high on the rocks , toward the top of the tank with a strong flow and they seem to thrive. I noticed yours were in the substrate, I don't know if that would make any difference for yours. Just a thought.

 

[Holygral]

I have them high 6 inches from 2x250MH and low on the sand bed, along being in high flow and low flow areas and it doesn't seem to make any difference. One thing I have noticed is that the high flow ones are fuller and more compact.

 

[N1Husker]

I know they love nitrates as do many corals, so I don't think nitrates are a problem. I have a 50 gallon tank and have transferred all of the corals once and the xenias have always been in high flow areas. I am not sure what is going on with yours, maybe they will pull out of it, they just get weird sometimes. My pom pom xenias look like they are dying some days but then spring back to life. Same with my finger leather coral, it won't exhibit its florets for three days and then displays them for a month, then back to looking dead. They are funny animals.

 

[kpiotrowski]

+1 on high light and flow. I will try to post some pics tonight of my original single zenia in my sps tank's display fuge with about 20 zenia under t-5's that I have had for a year...and the single zenia in my 65g softy tank that is now about 60 head in 5 months time under 250w mh about 6 inch below water line. its actually pretty cool. I have them on a single 18 inch long stick of tonga branch that sticks out in the middle so they can't get away. they grow very bushy and compact compared to long and thin.

 

[kpiotrowski]

her are the pics. first is 65g tank. one zenia x 4 months under 2x36in vho and 1x250mh and dirtier water Uploaded with ImageShack.usdisplay fuge one zenia x one year under 4x36inch t-5 and cleaner water Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

[N1Husker]

How are your xenias doing?