got my first coral...a xenia!!

tripleup05 · 04/02/2006, 08:43 PM

I recenty bought a pulsing Xenia. It was fully open in the store, and pulsing like mad. It stayed half way open in the bag during acclimation, closed while i placed it, and within 30 minutes opened about 50%. This was Friday afternoon, and since then, it has been opening and closing. Today it opened up what I believe to be 100% for the first time for awhile, which excites me, but it still closes up and only stays about 50% open alot, too. Is this normal? Stupidly, as this is my first coral and did not research acclimation well enough, i turned the lights on in the tank after only 45minutes or so after placing him. This didn't seem to harm it too much though. Also, what exactly does moderate to heavy water motion entitle. Right now, to keep from blowing it all over and making it close up, i only have one powerhead on and i used to have three running before adding it. Is it normal for it to be blowing around, or should it only gently sway while it pulses? My guess is gentle...basically i just need a little advice, and am wondering if it is normal for it to continue to randomly open and close on me. right now its little arms are fully extended, but the fingers aren't opening all of the way. they are going from closed to only slightly opening, then closing again instead of fully extending before contracting. dont know if this means anything... thanks for any input folks!!!

spoiledcats · 04/02/2006, 09:36 PM

When we first got our pulsing xenia it took about 2 weeks for it to start acting normal. I wouldn't put it in a high flow area, moderate has worked well for us. Also, ours closes for a bit every day. And we have a cleaner shrimp that likes to walk on it at night, so it closes then, but opens back up when the shrimp moves somewhere else. I also think we had it too close to the light when we first got it, cause it didn't open much. Now it's about at the middle of the tank and seems to like it there.

Sk8r · 04/03/2006, 04:03 PM

Test your water. Get it to the standard for corals and it will be happy. It likes light, it likes current that brings it food, but not current that blows it straight sideways. It also grows like mad, so pick out a rock you can use for its home, set your frag on that, and keep that rock separate from other rocks as much as possible. That way you can keep it happy and your new pet 'in his yard'. I love the stuff. It's hardy---mine came in on live rock and lived through the cycle. And it's busy all day long.

DDS4 · 04/03/2006, 04:12 PM

Get the weedwacker ready.....

Just to give you an idea. My 2 original heads of pulsing xenia has become a total of 15 heads in 5 months.

starseed · 04/03/2006, 06:40 PM

I agree with the other posters.

Mine took 2 to 3 weeks to acclimate which is normal.

You can tell when it's acclimapened when the stocks start dividing.

My 1 head is now 6 heads in one month - I haven't commited to a place in the tank, but it obviously grows like mad which needs to be considered in placement

tripleup05 · 04/03/2006, 09:01 PM

thanks for the replies everybody. it went through its open some, closed some cycle today. its a relief to know it is normal for it to close up. hopefully it will fully acclimate in the next week or two. i did not realize how bad they spread, so i probably need to put in in a new location. the only problem is it came on a 3lb piece of rock, which makes it hard to move. the rock was free though with the xenia!

amazingbobby · 04/03/2006, 09:08 PM

I got my first xenia 2 days ago. Within 2 hrs, they were all open and pulsing. Today, they(it?) look better than they did at the lfs. Here's a weird thought, though. I woke up Saturday night after having a weird dream about planet-wide synchronization of pulsing, I mean, like one big synched up colony of epic proportions. Kinda like to the beat of a world wide drum....

I really should stop getting up to look in the middle of the night.

04/02/2006, 08:43 PM	#1
tripleup05 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Grayson, Ga Posts: 120	got my first coral...a xenia!! I recenty bought a pulsing Xenia. It was fully open in the store, and pulsing like mad. It stayed half way open in the bag during acclimation, closed while i placed it, and within 30 minutes opened about 50%. This was Friday afternoon, and since then, it has been opening and closing. Today it opened up what I believe to be 100% for the first time for awhile, which excites me, but it still closes up and only stays about 50% open alot, too. Is this normal? Stupidly, as this is my first coral and did not research acclimation well enough, i turned the lights on in the tank after only 45minutes or so after placing him. This didn't seem to harm it too much though. Also, what exactly does moderate to heavy water motion entitle. Right now, to keep from blowing it all over and making it close up, i only have one powerhead on and i used to have three running before adding it. Is it normal for it to be blowing around, or should it only gently sway while it pulses? My guess is gentle...basically i just need a little advice, and am wondering if it is normal for it to continue to randomly open and close on me. right now its little arms are fully extended, but the fingers aren't opening all of the way. they are going from closed to only slightly opening, then closing again instead of fully extending before contracting. dont know if this means anything... thanks for any input folks!!!

04/03/2006, 04:03 PM	#3
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	Test your water. Get it to the standard for corals and it will be happy. It likes light, it likes current that brings it food, but not current that blows it straight sideways. It also grows like mad, so pick out a rock you can use for its home, set your frag on that, and keep that rock separate from other rocks as much as possible. That way you can keep it happy and your new pet 'in his yard'. I love the stuff. It's hardy---mine came in on live rock and lived through the cycle. And it's busy all day long. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

04/03/2006, 09:08 PM	#7
amazingbobby Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: N.California Posts: 227	I got my first xenia 2 days ago. Within 2 hrs, they were all open and pulsing. Today, they(it?) look better than they did at the lfs. Here's a weird thought, though. I woke up Saturday night after having a weird dream about planet-wide synchronization of pulsing, I mean, like one big synched up colony of epic proportions. Kinda like to the beat of a world wide drum.... I really should stop getting up to look in the middle of the night. __________________ Control for smilers can't be bought Current Tank Info: 29 gal Reef, 30"Coralife Deluxe Aqualight, Aqua C Remora Skimmer, 24 gal Cube w/ 150w Sunpod. LPS, softies, bristleworms x 7.34 million, and other weird creatures.

04/02/2006, 09:36 PM	#2
spoiledcats Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Lehigh Valley Posts: 622	When we first got our pulsing xenia it took about 2 weeks for it to start acting normal. I wouldn't put it in a high flow area, moderate has worked well for us. Also, ours closes for a bit every day. And we have a cleaner shrimp that likes to walk on it at night, so it closes then, but opens back up when the shrimp moves somewhere else. I also think we had it too close to the light when we first got it, cause it didn't open much. Now it's about at the middle of the tank and seems to like it there.

04/03/2006, 04:12 PM	#4
DDS4 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Land of fruits and nuts Posts: 51	Get the weedwacker ready..... Just to give you an idea. My 2 original heads of pulsing xenia has become a total of 15 heads in 5 months.

04/03/2006, 06:40 PM	#5
starseed Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: San Francisco Posts: 275	I agree with the other posters. Mine took 2 to 3 weeks to acclimate which is normal. You can tell when it's acclimapened when the stocks start dividing. My 1 head is now 6 heads in one month - I haven't commited to a place in the tank, but it obviously grows like mad which needs to be considered in placement

04/03/2006, 09:01 PM	#6
tripleup05 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Grayson, Ga Posts: 120	thanks for the replies everybody. it went through its open some, closed some cycle today. its a relief to know it is normal for it to close up. hopefully it will fully acclimate in the next week or two. i did not realize how bad they spread, so i probably need to put in in a new location. the only problem is it came on a 3lb piece of rock, which makes it hard to move. the rock was free though with the xenia!