Xenias getting haircut...

[Reefguide]

I seem to be having alot of probs with my xenias.... It seems like somebody in my tank keeps trimming a bit off the top.... Could this be a natural occurance?? Some seems to be clipped right at the base and some simply loose a segment or too...

Tank occupants:

Yellow Tang
Blue Tang
2 true percs
Blood Shrimp
Cleaner Shrimp
Blue and Reg legged Hermits
Turbo snails

I've been watching the tank like a hawk and cant seem to find anyone dining on them but I'm at my wits end.... Natural Occurance or hungry critters?? They are all very well fed also !!

Thanks

 

[esmithiii]

I have the same thing when i am not feeding heavily. I have a yellow tang, neon goby, mandarin, maroon clown and 3 yellow damsels.

Ernie

 

[Reefguide]

have you actually caught the tang in action? I'm ready to get rid of my 2 tangs if I find out they are responsible....

 

[HuBu]

i would have to say the tangs.

 

[Reefguide]

I was told at LFS that my hermits mights be the problem. They are huge. Most of them I have had since day 1 ! He made a good point... If it were the tangs you would see them durring the day eating away at the xenia, whereas the crabs mostly eat at night.... What ya guys think? I've already isolated the hermits to see if the xenias do better.

 

[danmhippo]

My vote to the damn pesky hermits.

 

[Anonymous]

I have seen a few posts here about tangs eating the heads off their xenia. Hermits are good suspects though.

 

[MarkO1]

FWIW, my Clarkii sometimes nips off the heads of the Xenia in his neighborhood. But I have a problem with the stuff growing too much... but I think I may have a solution. Last week I noticed them (Xenia) stressing under the 92º temp.... Everythin elso was fine. Maybe I can just cook them off. :wink:
_________________
cannabis strains

 

[phillips]

The same thing was happening to some of mine, but only to the polyps on one stalk in the back of the tank. After a couple of weeks of watching day & night for the culprit I caught a 2 1/2 inch diameter Favite colony munching out on a captured polyp. At night it was sending out sweepers to catch a dinner. I decided to leave things as they were since I have no shortage of Xenia.