Xenia help!!

[Demogarr]

Hello there. This is my first post on this board. I got two types of Xenia 3 weeks ago. One is short and stocky, it is purple. One is pinkish and is longer. Sorry I do not know specific type. I bought them at my lfs from a guy who propogated them in his tank. They were both doing great. The purple one does not grow as fast as the pink one. The pink one grows like a weed! Here recently I noticed that some, not all, of the new growth was spindly looking. Some of the old growth also had a discolored "pinched" look at the base of the stalk. They tend to lean over at these points.They are still pulsing like crazy. At some suggestions on another board I moved them out of most current, started with some Iodine supplement, and propogated a few of the pieces. There were about 6 or 7 Xenia growing on this small piece of rock with nowhere to go. I will see if this helps any, but if anyone out there knows what is wrong, please post and let me know.

[Brooke]

Hi and Welcome to The Reef Tank. It sounds like your xenia is ok. If it were all shriveled looking, not expanded, and not pulsing I would be more concerned. Go to the LFS and get some rubble rock (small rocks) and place them next to the xenia so it can spread. Then sell them to your LFS for some $$$. Be very careful when dosing iodine. Like most medicine, small doses are helpful, but large doses are toxic. The same holds true for many elements and chemicals in our tanks. I find that xenia can adapt to a wide range of environments...high light, low light, high current, low current...etc. What kind of light do you have on your tank? My xenia grew best when it was in high light and moderate current.

The purple xenia sounds cool..do you have a pic of it?? The pink xenia is most likely Xenia elongata.

HTH-
Brooke

[Demogarr]

Hey there. I do not have the ability at this time to make reliable pictures of my xenia, sorry. The pink one looks a little better. I went ahead and cut a few pieces. There were about 6 on a tiny rock. I moved it and found some small twigs growing on the LR! I was very excited. After seeing a video on cutitng the pieces, it looked extreme, but the cutings are actually doing fine. They are still pinched looking, and there are one or two shriveled looking twigs, but they are all pulsing happily. Thanks for respinding.

[Demogarr]

Just remembered, I have 4 vho lights, two 50/50 and two blue.

[tdwyatt]

Look closely at the "Twigs", they are most likely a type of tube worm that seems to grow in conjunction with the Red Sea xenia (prolly what the pink weed is...)