dying xenia

[kjswift]

this might be a stupid question, but..... if dying xenia is in your tank can it affect your other corals. it has been about a month or so and my zoos are staying closed, corals bleaching. could this be related? thanks

[Viet-Tin]

POst your water parameters and type of lighting and filtration.

[dan]

are you using ESV B-IONIC. ''THEY LOVE IT'' so will everything else. i'm running a 70 gal. tank, all xenia

[KarenB]

If your xenia is dying, remove it. It can affect everything else in your tank. Xenia is easy to come by, and people are giving it away every week. You can always try it again after everything else settles down. I'd do some water changes to start with and run some carbon ASAP.

[CD]

Hi kjswift!
1. No question is a "stupid" question...if you don't ask, how will you learn?
2. Any dead or dying creature is not good for your water quality - especially corals, as they secrete
many different types of toxins into the water as they are dying.
3. Xenias are prone to "crashing" in which an entire colony will stop pulsing, wilt, deflate, and
degenerate rapidly...this crash can take place in colonies that have been thriving for a long time...
Even without any discernable changes in water quality or mineral content.
Also, lifespans can range from 1-2 years or (most) 3-7 years depending on the xenia type.
4. Are you more worried about saving the Xenias at this point in time, or preventing die off of your
other corals? If you are more concerned with your other corals, get the dying Xenias out of your
tank ASAP! If you want to try and save them, consider A) Lighting (strong light is advised for this
species. B) Good water circulation. C) Water quality - do you have a kit to test parameters?
D) Some propagators report iodine additions to the water (being careful not to over-do) are an
important factor in keeping Xenias happy. Of course there are other factors, but I would start
there, and not necessarily in that order.
You didn't really say how far gone the Xenias are, but if it is a lost cause, get them out immediately. If you have any more specific questions after checking on above considerations, please feel free to ask, and also, if I may suggest a book that will be very helpful to you on coral husbandry: "Aquarium Corals - Selection, Husbandry, and Natural History" by Eric H. Borneman. VERY helpful book!
HTHs!

Wendy

[kjswift]

i took them out already. they just peeled right off the rocks. my ph is 8.0, nitrite 0, nitrate 10ppm, ammonia 0, calcium 480. if i need test other parameters let me know. i just started using ESV B-IONIC. my lighting is 2 x 250watt mh 10k, 2 x 60" vho super-artintic. i have a 125gallon, running a protein skimmer that is working well, wet/dry with 30 gallon fuge, 150 lbs live rock, and trying to start managroves in fuge. thanks

[ratboy]

A temp spike can cause zenia to crash as well as Iodine depletion. I would check your daily max temp and see if that is your problem. I would recommend some water changes over Iodine addition because years ago Im pretty sure I nuked a tank by adding too much Iodine (chemistry grade KI, nore dangerous to use than commercial supplements) .
-Erik

[kjswift]

my temp is 81-84.

[GaryP]

Xenia can concentrate a lot of toxic stuff, especially heavy metals. That's why some people are using them in fuges. If they crash, they release the toxins they are storing. I've lost a lot of corals when moving as a result of Xenia crashing in transit.

Gary

[Tim Marvin]

I'd have to go with water changes also. Some carbon will help at this point. GaryP is right, some people use xenia like caulerpa and just routinely remove it. I'd say something else is off also. 81-84 is on the warmer side which is fine in itself for most critters, but in a stressed tank this could be the final straw. Your nitrates are probably up as a result of things dieing, but if zoo's are dieing they will also release toxins that are very hard on capricornis, but other acropora usually survive this. try this:
1. large water change
2. add carbon
3. remove anything visibly dead or dieing
4. put some fans on the tank to bring down temp. in the 78-80 range.
5. pull any rare corals out and put them in another set-up or hospital tank that has not been treated with copper.
6. cross your fingers and get in touch with your God.

[kjswift]

thanks for the help guys. ill keep you posted.