Lessons Learned and Questions to ask

[henryhahn]

I had purchased a beautiful xenia from the LFS that had reacted poorly a day after putting it in my tank.
After troubleshooting for multiple days, I found my camel back shrimp ripping a tentacle off my poor of it Although the LFS had assured me was reef safe, further searches reveal it is NOT.
After quite a bit of negotiation with my sons, (well at least my oldest - my middle son said he had to go right away), I was able to convince them to allow me to relocate the shrimp to the LFS tank.
On the upside, the guy at the LFS that sold me the shrimp was so stunned, he discounted another coral for me. Unfortunately, they don't carry pulsing xenia...but I did score a beautiful duncan that I had been eyeing.
Here are where the questions start:
Problem 1 - Any chance this xenia could recover?
I showed another pic to the guy in the store, and he was positive, but he was also positive the camel shrimp wouldn't bother corals.

Problem 2 - Do I even consider another shrimp?
My boys and I really loved this little guy. After having him for months, we got to see him out in the open all the time. However, there isn't a single shrimp that I can find that doesn't have posts about it eating/bothering/stealing food from other corals. Even skunk/cleaners like in this thread

 

[recess62]

That Xenia will likely recover. I had one that melted after a tank crash from low oxygen. All that was left was a little nub. It grew back. However it has not rebounded to its premorbid glory

IMO shrimp go looking for food when hungrey. This food can be your softies. I have peppermint shrimp that leave my softies alone. I feed heavily

 

[henryhahn]

That Xenia will likely recover. I had one that melted after a tank crash from low oxygen. All that was left was a little nub. It grew back. However it has not rebounded to its premorbid glory

IMO shrimp go looking for food when hungrey. This food can be your softies. I have peppermint shrimp that leave my softies alone. I feed heavily

So they do have a chance? It looks like so little left on that rock. I had thought it was utterly dead. This is what they looked like before the rogue shrimp:

 

[recess62]

Mine were just like that. They melted to just a small amount of tissue on the rock. It took a while but they did grow back. If it is dead it will melt away

 

[twin77]

I too had a similar thing happen to my small brand new xenia frag. My rogue shrimp was a small decorator crab that decided he was going to frag his own for himself. I had a feeling it was going to happen. I watched and waited and as soon as I walked away, that bugger had a go. He was then put in timeout in the fuge until he was donated to the LF. My xenia was pretty beat up but that sucker has bounced back and is now taking over. I'm about to be the crab in the near future.

 

[henryhahn]

Mine were just like that. They melted to just a small amount of tissue on the rock. It took a while but they did grow back. If it is dead it will melt away

WOOT! I am so happy! Do I need to dip it or give it reef roids or anything?

 

[henryhahn]

I too had a similar thing happen to my small brand new xenia frag. My rogue shrimp was a small decorator crab that decided he was going to frag his own for himself. I had a feeling it was going to happen. I watched and waited and as soon as I walked away, that bugger had a go. He was then put in timeout in the fuge until he was donated to the LF. My xenia was pretty beat up but that sucker has bounced back and is now taking over. I'm about to be the crab in the near future.

Sorry to hear it, but glad I'm not the only one. Did you do anything to assist it afterwards?

 

[recess62]

Not really. There was nothing there to feed. Just a mass of flesh. I target and broadcast reefroids. It probably didn't hurt

 

[henryhahn]

Not really. There was nothing there to feed. Just a mass of flesh. I target and broadcast reefroids. It probably didn't hurt

I do see small tubes starting to grow back
I have never used reefroids, but I have heard quite a bit about it.
Currently, I do Fusion 1 & 2, Fuel, and Phytoplankton. All my levels look neat and my 2 little corals seem to be happy
Are there things, like reefroids, that I should also be adding?

 

[twin77]

A little before and after. Plus the culprit.

]

 

[twin77]

A little before and after. Plus the culprit.

]

 

[recess62]

You know I broadcast feed reefroids for other corals in the tank. Not sure if this helped the Xenia.

 

[henryhahn]

Here they are, today:

I can see little stems growing out

And here is my other, very happy, coral

 

[recess62]

Good news. My Duncans love to be spot fed. Went from 1 head to 15 heads in 1 year

 

[henryhahn]

Good news. My Duncans love to be spot fed. Went from 1 head to 15 heads in 1 year

Lol, glad to hear it! I thought I may be spoiling it by feeding it every day....but it looks to happy!