GSP & Xenia - Tank Weeds?

[jcpatella]

I've read many people complaining that these two species are taking over their tank. Personally, I find them both attractive. GSP has an interesting bright green coloring and xenia has interesting movement. What makes fragging (or cutting back) these corals so difficult?

I'd like to get both of these eventually, so any information now is helpful. Thanks!

[Husky_1]

They are not difficult to frag, actually, they are very easy to frag. The problem is that you you have to do it too often if you do not want your tank to get run over with them.

[sasscuba]

I have my xenia on the left 2 feet of my 6 foot tank. I lay a piece of tonga branch over the reef and let the xenia grow all it wants. When it starts getting on the tonga branch I frag it off that branch and it does not go furthur thus keeping it at bay. I keep my GSP on a piece of LR in the front corner of my tank away from the reef and it stays put on that rock.

[MrSpiffy]

You can grow GSP on sand, too, which is how mine's been growing. I figure, once it encroaches on a place I don't want it, I'll just snip some of it off and sell/trade it. You could also put it on an isolated rock and just trim it as it starts growing onto the sand.

Xenia is a different story, as I've heard of it randomly popping up in parts of the tank it was not placed in. I just had this happen, myself. I just got some Thin Bar Xenia a couple months ago, and it attached nicely to a small piece of rock. Just last week I saw a tiny piece of Xenia living on the sand. I'm going to have to watch this stuff. If it gets too out of control, it's going to have to go. But whether this stuff grows or not seems kinda hit or miss. Some people grow it like weeds. Some can't keep it alive.

[jcpatella]

Interesting - does anyone have GSP growing against the glass (sides or back)? I've seen this in some tanks and I think it makes a nice natural background (like coralline).

[SARBoy]

Xenia is like a weed and bloody hard to get rid of in my experiance. Moved house and broke down my tank, in the prosses got rid of all my xenia as best i could. i came back from 2 months away and it had taken over 1/2 the tank(yes someone was looking after the tank). I'm afraid that in my new 300g i will have to lose a large amount of my LR to keep it out of the system.

[Gdevine]

I have both and love them. I frag the Xenia to keep it under control which is really fun to tell you the truth. It's like landscaping your hedges, I can make my reef look different every couple of months.

As for the GSP, it's simply beautiful and I let it compete for space along with my other softies and that keeps it in control.

Along with my other softies my reef looks like a garden...really totally cool and simply beautiful.

[kathainbowen]

I adore Xenia and GSP, even if they are invasive. There is just something about the flowing, graceful nature of their motion in the water, and their curved shapes that is quite elegant. The colors on certain GSP specimens and the pulsating of certain Xenia colonies is just icing on the cake. To make matters even better, there have been exceedingly interesting accounts of using soft corals like Xenia species specifically for nutrient exportation.

That being said, they grow rather quickly and, when left unchecked, can be quite invasive. It takes careful planning and pruning to keep these guys from taking over a tank, but, with the right hand, they can make absolutely fabulous tank additions. I suppose the nearest freshwater equivalent would be the usage of java moss in "nature style" (aka "Amano style") planted tanks.

So, six on one hand, half a dozen on the other. For every person you find who loves these corals like I do, you're bound to find at least one person who loathes them.

[jcpatella]

Gdevine - do you have any pics?

[jcpatella]

Personally, I've gained more interest in soft, flowing corals. That's why I'm particularly interested in these corals.

[skeeter-doc]

spiffy, any pics of your thin bar Xenia?

I also believe that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and yes many people think GSP and Xenia are wonderful additions to a reef tank, but it is true that in a tank where Xenia is an over-success, even just one polyp floating along can introduce the colony to a new part of the tank

another weed-like coral is Kenya tree

[JayB1224]

I had that heppen to me the other day. A small single polyp fell off the trunk of the colony and is now attached to the bottom all by its self pulsing away.

[IndyReefMan]

If there ever is a nuclear war, all that will be left are cockroaches and green star polyps.

[Gdevine]

Originally posted by jcpatella
Gdevine - do you have any pics?

I'll take some new shots tonight. With these corals your tank will look different every few weeks depending upon how you frag and the rate they grow. I have a finger leather that is so full and plump and stunning it's unreal. And when I look at photo's from even a month or so ago the tank has a totally different look.

For me, this is what it's all about. The reef is filling out with pulsing and flowing corals - no colored rocks or stonies here.

I have a long polyp toad stool with ends that look like snow flakes and they flow with the current in such a way that all of the polyps look like they're dancing in rythm.

I also have a short polyp toad stool with neon green polyps that under that actinics next to the neon green GSP the contrast is nothing short of stunning.

Man, why people complain about these corals is beyond me...easy to care for...flowing...beautiful

[Randy1]

Yes, both are weeds. I wish I never put them in my tank. I deal with them almost weekly.

[jcpatella]

Gdevine - looking forward to the pics!

Randy1 - this may be a dumb question, but why can't you remove them? I've heard that they reproduce quickly, but couldn't you bring the rock they're on back to the LFS in exchange for more rock?

[Jack04]

is there anything that one could add to a tank to increase growth of GSP or xenia???

I have shut down my tanks for a while and i am thinking about setting up one with only Gsp and xenia, I like them and they are not too demanding, the tank will not have a skimmer or traditional filter, live sand & rock, with some macro alge in a fuge or maybe in the tank and some decent flow, i will probably run carbon and do bi-weekly water changes of 20%

also what temp would these corals thrive at.... 72-75 or 76-81?

would it help to add phyto or marine snow and iodine, i will also plan on using Bi-onic 2 part for coraline...

or could i have a hand full of damsels or chromis and let the corals grow off the poop and food... (extra nutrients)

[Jack04]

in the above post i meant that there will not be a skimmer or canister, or hang on tank filter

There will be a false back/ side to allow a chamber for carbon, main pump, or possible fuge.

in the tank i will have LR and LS

[SurfnFish]

How do you prune your Xenia and GSP? Also, when you prune it, how do you get it to "stick" to another area?

[kathainbowen]

Originally posted by SurfnFish
How do you prune your Xenia and GSP? Also, when you prune it, how do you get it to "stick" to another area?

Any sharp cutting edge will do. I've seen people specifically keep scissors, but I'm more of a single-edged, unoiled razor kind of person myself (since you can buy them in large quantities and use them for various other tasks around the home). Just make a clean cut at the base of the stalk you wish to remove.

There are a few different ways to attach xenia to something.

1.) You can glue it. This can be a bit tricky as xenia is super-slimy to the tough even when it's not stressed out and sliming.

2.) You can use a "wrapping" technique with an all weather mesh in a similar fashion to how people force mushrooms, rics, and leathers to attach.

3.) You can put the cutting in a separate area with low flow over some reef rubble for it to attach its self, or over some sand. As soon as the xenia attaches to even a grain of sand, you can easily glue that to a rock in a technique similar to mushroom cuttings.

4.) You can use a sort of "stapling" technique by piercing the new cutting at the base of the stalk with a toothpick and, then, using a rubber band to hold the toothpick against the rock. However, sometimes, the frag will split down the length of the stalk, ripping itself from its holding and drifting away, especially if in a high-current area.

5.) In my personal favorite technique, since I can be pretty lazy from time to time, and since xenia doesn't smell to good out of the water, you can just put a piece of reef rubble at the edge of the area you want the xenia to grow in, at the border, if you will. This works particularly well if you define the border by a crack between two pieces of rock so you can use the rubble as wedges to keep them in place. As soon as a stalk "jumps" to that piece, slice any connective tissue between the stalk and the main colony, remove the piece of rubble, and replace with another piece. This works especially well if you have gotten to know your colony really well and know which direction its going to go in.

[zotzer]

another weed-like coral is Kenya tree

You're not kidding. I've had no issue with keeping my xenia and gsp contained, but the kenya tree frags itself by dropping branches which float around and propogate all over the tank. Seems like I am constantly cutting down new outcroppings of the stuff.

Tracy

[Gdevine]

Here are a few pics of my tank with Pink Crawling Xenia and Neon Green GSP.

Please guy keep in mind; 1) this tank is only 1 year old and 2) I am not a professional photographer and used a small digital to get these shots...it's the best I can do. But you can get the picture, if fragged correctly Xenia can and fill out a reef nicely and mix well with other GSP, softies as well as LPS!

[jcpatella]

Awesome! Thanks for the pics.

[Gdevine]

Originally posted by jcpatella
Awesome! Thanks for the pics.

Thanks! I guess you can tell I really like the left side of the reef with the smaller of the two caves. The mix of the 2 toadstool, GSP and Xenia is really nice! But I love my finger leather as well...it's getting huge and I want it to reach the top of the tank!

Go for it Jcpatella

[jcpatella]

Man - looking back at the pics, I like your fish selection as well! That flame angel is beautiful and I'm a sucker for cleaner shrimp. Hopefully my tank will look something like that in time!