Xenia Removal, Help

[critofer]

Hey guys,

So I have Xenia taking over my tank and I am going to do something about it.
I CANNOT! take out the rock to scrub it off because its all glued together and it would damage ALOT of SPS doing it.

I have come up with a few options,

-Sting the hell outta it with My colony of Frogspawn.
-Inject the stalks with Vinegar.

I cant seem to think of any other ways to remove it.

If i inject/Sting it would it cause a lot of die off and crash my tank??


What do you guys think? I want this stuff GONE completely. Is there anything I cut put in my 40B tank that would eat it?


HELP!

Critofer

[preef]

How much do you have? Any pics?

If it restricted to one area I would pull it with tweezers and then put epoxy paste over the rock where it was growing from. After several weeks you should be able to pull the epoxy off.

[critofer]

Here are pics of the Xenia. I think i would need alot of epoxy.

[jacob.morgan78]

How long did it take to get like that? I like mine but maybe I should take it out now...

[critofer]

TAKE IT OUT!

It doesnt even seem like its grows in my Opinion and then one day its like BAM! taking over ya tank!

[IslandCrow]

Good luck. The best method is to keep it well pruned and preferrably on an isolated rock. But, in your case, here's what I would do (I've used this method with moderate success):

- Get a pair of foreceps (Boston Aquafarms has some nice surgical quality foreceps if you can't find them locally)
- Get as close to the base of the xenia stem as possible with the foreceps and pull it off the rock. Every once in awhile, you actually get lucky enough to pull it off with nothing remaining on the rock.
- Mix up a thick paste of kalk and use a syringe with a relatively wide opening and cover any remaining xenia flesh. The kalk paste should be thick enough that the majority of it sticks to the xenia/rock. If you have a lot of water flow, you many need to turn off your pumps for awhile.
- If that doesn't work, try the same procedure, except use epoxy putty instead of the kalk paste

[jimsplace]

Islandcrow has the right idea, peel off what you can and just keep working at it, it will take some time. Be careful, pieces which break off can start growing somewhere else. I have had issues with xenia, gsp and mushrooms in the past, it just takes time and persistance; you will win. Good luck.

[Porkyboy177]

Weedwacker! When I had xenia on my 22g nano only way was to remove the rock and scrape it off. Even the slightest amount of flesh will grow back

[RA]

Get as much out as you can as Island Crow said. After doing that you can put pieces of rock over the spots where there might be some left. By the way your xenia would just over run your Frogspawn, it wouldn't harm it at all. You may have to do this several times before it is under control.

[blennielove]

Hi Critofer, your tank looked like my 28 gallon nano when it was over-run with Xenia. How I got rid of mine was really simple but takes a little time. My rockwork was not movable also and I really didn't want to kill them...

Place smaller pieces of rock upwards (higher than, more towards the light) where the xenia are and they will climb up onto those pieces and all you have to do is to remove them. Remember, any small amount of will grow into another one.


X = xenia R = rock S = your scape



RRR
XXSSRRRRR
SSSSSXXXX

something like that...I hope you get it. I got ALL my xenia out in less than three weeks time, then I took them to the LFS and they gave me credit for some "NICE" corals that don't overtake my tank.

[NYCBOB]

i siphon mine out during water change. they come right out if u rub the base a little. i also have xenia all over the place. they actually do more good than harm since they absorb nitrate.

[psteeleb]

after pulling them I'll rub some kalc paste on the rock are to sanitize it, it keeps them from gowing back

[critofer]

Okay I will just rippem out and use Kalk Paste.

One thing though, How do you make Kalk Paste? Is it something you make a home? or do you have to buy stuff to make it?



Thanks!


Chris

[Chris2223]

look up mrs. Wages pickling lime it's used for caning/ pickling food, you can find it at the grocery store. I think its like 5 bucks. When you get it put a table spoon amount in a bowl and mix in a little water at a time until it turns into a paste. The only thing I have ever used to place it in my tank was a syringe, but make sure you don't use too much at one time cause it can raise your ph. HTH

[critofer]

Alright, Anyone else?

[strangenames13]

Frogspawn for the small stalks (I do it all the time). Forceps (or pliers) for the big ones. If you use the kalk paste be careful where you put it and turn off your powerheads.

[thomasp123]

I have the same problem! today I spent a hour picking the stuff off of the rocks with a hemostat (fancy locking tweezers) I think it would be easier if they didn't lock. But that's what I had on hand. I have been doing this for a year now. I think of it as nutrient export as I pulled about 20 or 30 good sized stalks today. I get after it every 2 to 3 week or when it really ****es me off. We are in kind of a steady state now.

[thomasp123]

The frogspawn is a funny idea my xenia grows right next to my frog which is about the size of a softball now!

[alton]

Lower your nitrates to 0. Xenia does well in dirty water. If it has nothing to filter it dies

[IslandCrow]

Originally Posted by NYCBOB

i siphon mine out during water change. they come right out if u rub the base a little. i also have xenia all over the place. they actually do more good than harm since they absorb nitrate.

I don't believe there's ever been any evidence of xenia directly absorbing nitrates. Along those lines, someone else suggested lowering your nitrates to 0, but this probably isn't going to help either. This has been a common misconception since xenia will sometimes do very well in "dirty" tanks, and sometimes withers and dies in pristine tanks. The exact opposite is true in other cases, though, so it's impossible to determine cause and effect from such examples.

Until someone really figures out the mystery of why xenia thrives in some tanks and withers and dies in otherwise well maintained tanks, I'm afraid your stuck with some form of manual removal.

[thomasp123]

I keep pulling it out lol. It keeps growing. Like I said we are in steady state right now