Xenia takeover possible

[ThrillYa]

Well that really cool single xenia frag I bought a few months back has multiplied to the point I'm wondering if I made a mistake. They grow so fast I'm wondering if they will over grow other corals in the tank. Other inhabitants include branching hammer, torch, clam, bubble coral, star polyps, brain. The only thing they are touching currently is my anemone which of course is doing a great job of holding its own against them. I go in every 2 weeks and harvest a bunch out to try to keep some space for other things to grow but may be a losing battle that way.

Any ideas? I would guess others have run into this problem but I didn't do too well with my searches.

 

[Anonymous]

I keep mine on the sides, away from the most intense lighting, and also up near the top...with my PCs they like to move up toward the light, not down.

 

[Anonymous]

I think with xenia, if it grows well for you, you have to come to terms with pruning it and flushing it down the toilet. Just think of it as macro algae .

When I had it growing well for me, I was trading it into the store two times a month, giving it away free to whomever would take it, and I still had to flush it from time to time.

 

[ThrillYa]

Dang! Thought the big brains round here would give me the ultimate fix. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[bradl.]

Just turn the rockover

 

[Bucktronix]

shoot concentrated kalk at it if you don't like it.

 

[Anonymous]

Oh, for chrisake, you don't need to try that hard to kill a coral!

 

[ThrillYa]

Oh, for chrisake, you don't need to try that hard to kill a coral!

LOL, that's what I thought Reef Box. On a couple of choice locations I've pulled a xenia off leaving just a tiny bit of the base on the rock. Within a week or so there are tiny little pulsing xenias appearing. Funny to think when I started this hobby I thought if I touched a coral it would die.

 

[ThrillYa]

So, will the other corals in my tank eventually be over grown by the xenia or will some be able to deffend themselves ok? Hopefully I won't let it get to that point but I am curious as to which coral would win.

 

[Anonymous]

Just be thankful it's not aiptasia

Regular pruning is necessary, and if need be, you can remove any live rock that has been overtaken. If you cut one branch, 6 more branches will spring up in its place, eventually something must be done
Some people use xenia for nutrient export. Personally, I love the stuff.

 

[Anonymous]

If you do not keep it pruned it can take over. Some LPS have a strong enought sting to kep it at bay. I had a coral beauty the liked to munch on it and that slowed it down quite a bit. I do not know if that is normal behavior for a CB.

 

[Anonymous]

Regular pruning will slow the explosion, but eventually IME it will take over.

I had this problem and recently pulled out the live rock that was covered in xenia and traded it to a LFS for new, clean rock.

All my efforts to kill it to save my old rock failed.

jayo

 

[Anonymous]

So, will the other corals in my tank eventually be over grown by the xenia or will some be able to deffend themselves ok? Hopefully I won't let it get to that point but I am curious as to which coral would win.

yes it can and will take over your tank. My tank is a perfect example of xenia overgrowth. I will try to post a recent picture. Only my bubble coral and frogspawn are able to keep the xenia at bay. Mushrooms and other polyps were all taken over and lost the battle. I prune and flush aggressively with minimal control. Fortunately, I love the pulsing xenia. If I had to do it all over again, I would not have introduced it.

mitch

 

[ThrillYa]

I really do love them but they're not the only thing I love. May be time to start a xenia tank. :lol:

 

[crod75]

I have a 20 gallon that is full of xenia. I originally had only a few stalks and within 9 months the tank was being taken over with them. However, once I removed my yellow tang from the tank the growth almost completely subsided. Now I only have a dottyback in the tank and the xenia are healthy but not spreading nearly as much. I think that all the nutrients that went into the tank to feed the tang really contributed to their growth. If you can possibly cut back on the organic nutrients you add to your tank, that may help.