Rolled the dice on a 6-pack, got some stinkers. Advice?

[MnFish1]

You said it yourself - you rolled the dice......

 

[MnFish1]

FWIW - they will not take over your tank - unless there is nothing else in there - and if you separate them they are easy to separate. and throw away

 

[bam123]

Put them on the back wall. A display of pulsating xenia on the back wall always looks good. Same with GSP. They are pretty corals. If the corals had a stupid name and came from indonesia, they would go for a fortune. I remember when no one really wanted corals from indonesia, and only wanted Australian or Red sea.

 

[Greenjeans]

and once they leave the back wall to start threatening my SPS rocks?

 

[bam123]

and once they leave the back wall to start threatening my SPS rocks?

majono wand or kalkwasser. My xenia is on the back wall. My rocks are 4 inches away from backwall. Not worried at all.

 

[IKD]

Just a suggestion, but you can put the fast-growing/invasive ones one an island (solo rock) and they’ll stay contained to that space. You can expand/frag/move/toss as you wish at that point.

 

[MasterReef]

I don't know why people are so afraid of GSP and Xenia? I think pulsing Xenia are one of the most mesmerizing corals there are. My theory is that people don't like them because it forces you to manage growth, which is going to happen with every coral you have eventually. The fast growers are just forcing you to manage things a little faster. GSP is one of the easiest corals to frag and Xenia is probably the 2nd easiest. You should treat it like practice for when the rest of your corals mature and start growing out of control. Every reef tank needs a growth management plan or else it will look like an overgrown unkept mess, no matter what corals are in it.

 

[Greenjeans]

Here's a couple xenia scares

The devil thy name is Xenia - Reef Central Online Community

The devil thy name is Xenia Soft Coral Keepers

www.reefcentral.com

Can I stop pulsing xenia from taking over my tank? - Reef Central Online Community

Can I stop pulsing xenia from taking over my tank? Reef Discussion

www.reefcentral.com

I totally agree that managing growth is a normal part of all mature tanks, but I do want to set myself up for success instead of a constant battle with xenia for the next 10 years. Managing sps growth isn't as difficult, looking through the advice in those threads...

 

[Charles4400]

How intricate and permanent your rockwork scape is determines alot on how much of a pita xenia is. WHEN it gets into cracks and crevices and places you cannot get to you will never be able to remove it completely if you ever wanted to. All it takes is a small piece to be broken off and attatch in a crevice of a piece of rock you cannot remove from the tank and congratulations you will most likely have xenia for the life of your tank.

Thats the problem with the spread is when you can't scrape off the matt it grows from and whatever you missed WILL eventually spread.

Its a beautiful and unique coral if kept in check. Problem is its too easy for it to get out of control and become a huge nuisance and then not so beautiful. Get a little lazy and let your water get a little dirty and it will takeoff like wildfire!

Thats why I would never try it in a fuge, a piece breaks off and goes back in your dt between some base rocks and you will have xenia forever.

Xebia......Never again!!!

 

[DanConnor]

The pipe organ is a possibility. I have a very vigorous type that I have grown between sps in my mixed reef. it looks kind of like gsp, but because of the hard tubes- when it goes somewhere you don't like, you can just break it off.

 

[InvaderJim]

I recently purchased a 5 coral softie pack from a reputable vendor on here and it was laughably average. GSP, Xenia, clove polyps all MUCH smaller than what you received, dime sized at best. Only redeeming factors were a ricordia and some radioactive dragon eye zoas.

 

[MnFish1]

Here's a couple xenia scares

The devil thy name is Xenia - Reef Central Online Community

The devil thy name is Xenia Soft Coral Keepers

www.reefcentral.com

Can I stop pulsing xenia from taking over my tank? - Reef Central Online Community

Can I stop pulsing xenia from taking over my tank? Reef Discussion

www.reefcentral.com

I totally agree that managing growth is a normal part of all mature tanks, but I do want to set myself up for success instead of a constant battle with xenia for the next 10 years. Managing sps growth isn't as difficult, looking through the advice in those threads...

The problem - is if you ONLY have Xenia - in a tank - they can take over. They will compete with other corals - and can also be managed. Believe it or not - some plating 'hard corals' will also - take over' if not managed. What has tended to happen in my tanks - is that the corals that thrive in my 'conditions' do the best - they tend to 'take over' - the corals that do not do as well are 'taken over'. There also acropora that are considered 'pest corals'. I Personally wouldn't worry about it - I just would put the Xenia or whatever on a separate rock - once it started getting 'out of hand' - I would just transfer some to another rock - (just a plain rock) - let it attach for a month - and sell/trade it into the LFS.

 

[ZipAdeeZoa]

That one really does look like some sort of pipe organ coral, if so they are not invasive but rather slow growing- best way to tell would be to gently poke the coral and if you feel a hard skeleton thats for sure a pipe organ! I really like mine personally. Heres is a video that explains them pretty well- they come in a few different varieties as well.

 

[Amado]

These are all beginner coral. You are a beginner. So put them in your tank and if they don’t die then you are a reefer. Xenia and gsp only grow when they don’t die.
I know a lot of people that can’t grow it at all.
I can tell you this when I started I got a frag of Xenia and I put it on a rock on its own and it grew and it was one of the nicest corals.
you friends and family that don’t know about reefing will love the pulsing.
xenia will also clean your water and that is helpful when you are starting out. Gsp at night under blue light is amazing. The neo-green is so bright. Enjoy what you have and practice on these corals so that you don’t kill the expensive ones.

 

[ou12004]

I have my gsp on its own rock and have never had a problem with them spreading in 7 years. The sad part is when people come over who are not into reefing that is their favorite thing! I have never messed with Xenia

 

[thedougen]

from what i heard place them on single rock
surrounded
by sand

 

[Greenjeans]

These are all beginner coral. You are a beginner. So put them in your tank and if they don’t die then you are a reefer. Xenia and gsp only grow when they don’t die.

Everything grows when they don't die! This might be a good metric for some folks, but is too low of a bar for me to aim for. I'm planning for the 10 year show-stopper tank, not a "toss in whatever coral is convenient and see if it doesn't die" tank. Maybe I'm trying too hard? I'm fine with that.

If I had the space for a smaller tank to "try stuff out on, learn on" I would toss them in there, but I don't.

I agree that they're beautiful and easy to appreciate. So are Himalayan Blackberries but I still kill these on sight.

At any rate, thanks everyone for the thoughts! I've donated all 5 of these corals to local hobbyists who want them and know how to keep them. Expensive lesson for me, but a good one.

 

[reef lover]

I would eventually like to have an SPS/LPS mixed reef - so you're saying I shouldn't add any of these softies?

I'm not confident on my IDs, it could be a organpipe? There is some reddish at the base.
Not confident about the GSP id either...

From the LiveAquaria sale page

More shots of the two colonies...GSP? Clove? Glove? Starburst? Organpipe? guh...

Definitely pipe organ...score!

 

[DanConnor]

Here's a bit of my pipe organ I broke off

 

[Kehy]

If you had a fair idea of what you were getting, why did you get it in the first place?