how to mount xenia on tank wall?

[TMIB]

I have a veritable forest of Xenia that is populating my live rock. I'd like to try and mount some of it on the back wall of the aquarium. (there's already a nice batch spreading against the side wall.)

I tried Aquamend, but it won't stick well enough to the acrylic underwater- it won't hold itself up, let alone the weight of the Xenia.

Any suggestions as to what I can use to mount them?

--TMIB

 

[Garee1]

Try resting the rock against the glass and let the xenia craw its way up.

 

[AuroraDave]

Garee is right on. If the xenia is touching the glass it will grow onto it.

 

[TMIB]

That's a possibility, I suppose, but I don't think it's going to work in this case.

What I'm looking at is a fairly massive-scale Xenia move.

I have at least 3 rocks in the middle areas of my tank covered in Xenia. Each of them has from 13-20 corals on them. And these are pretty large Xenia- the bases are about 1/2" across, and they stand 4"-6" tall. They're not really overcrowded (yet) since each of these rocks are about a foot long and nearly that wide.

It makes for a really pretty Xenia "forest" but leaves little room for new corals on the live rock. I was hoping to find some method of transferring the Xenia to the aquarium walls a little faster. I can be patient and use the 'natural' method if need be, but moving these 3 big rocks against the wall isn't going to be a simple solution. The way my tank is aquascaped, this would provide a much bigger impact to my tank than I'd like right now. (as in, I don't want to dismantle all of my live rock in order to move the Xenia.)

I am looking forward to having a tank with walls of pulsing Xenia.

Any other ideas on how I can get the Xenia to 'stick' to the walls? It can be a temporary method, since after a few days they should start to adhere themselves to the walls on their own.

Thanks,

--TMIB

 

[bgdiving]

I assume you are planning to cut the xenia loose from there present rocks. You could then use 2 of the lettuce or nori feeding clips with the suction cups and place a tooth pick in the jaws of the clips and compress the xenia against the back wall or you could impale the xenia to hold in place between the clips.

Another idea would be to use 2 magnetic algae scrapers and place a little pocket of bridal vail between them and slip the xenia between the glass and the bridal veil and in a few days they should be attached at what ever level in the tank you want them. Just remember where ever you place them, xenias tend to grow up the glass but not down, so start them low enough in the tank.

What type xenias are you growing?

 

[TMIB]

Hey, good ideas. I think I may go with a combination of your suggestions- perhaps suction cups and bridal veil.

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote

What type xenias are you growing?

I'm not particularly good at identifying specific species of Xenia. Anthelia, possibly. They are tan, with a single thick trunk branching out into lots of stems with fronds. They pulse beautifully, the little "hands" opening and closing constantly.

thanks!

--TMIB

 

[GMH320]

bgdiving, excellent ideas!!!

 

[Anonymous]

One drop of superglue gel on the base of the stalk, then press against the glass. Like butta.

RR

 

[kevjtomy]

If that doesn't work for some reason, tear a piece off of your large rock, rubber band it to a small rock, or snail shell or whatever. Rest that on your back glass. When I want to frag that is how I do it and it has worked every time.

 

[TMIB]

I think I may have found my solution.

I have a couple of those "heater holder" deals that use two suction cups & a piece of rigid plastic in between. They're supposed to be used to hold a glass heater to the wall of your aquarium.

I removed a large piece of Xenia from the rock last night and pinned it to the wall with the heater holder. This morning he's opened up rather nicely, and I am confident it'll anchor itself fairly soon. As long as it anchors to the aquarium wall, and not the heater holder, it should work fine.

--TMIB