Skinny Xenia and iodine

[atul176]

Hello,

I got a pulsing Xenia about 4 ish months ago, and up until the last month and a half it was doing well and pulsing like crazy. Now the polyps are skinny and not as puffed up without any pulsing whatsoever. I have also been battling prorocentrum dinos and now have a forest of GHA however it was looking skinny before the algae. Since I have not done a substantial water change in quite a while could the tank be iodine deficient? I’ve been dosing phosphates so I’m not sure nutrient deficiency is the problem and my nitrates are at 30. Would it be worth a shot so dose small amounts of iodine? #reefsquad

 

[downonthereef]

Hello,

I got a pulsing Xenia about 4 ish months ago, and up until the last month and a half it was doing well and pulsing like crazy. Now the polyps are skinny and not as puffed up without any pulsing whatsoever. I have also been battling prorocentrum dinos and now have a forest of GHA however it was looking skinny before the algae. Since I have not done a substantial water change in quite a while could the tank be iodine deficient? I’ve been dosing phosphates so I’m not sure nutrient deficiency is the problem and my nitrates are at 30. Would it be worth a shot so dose small amounts of iodine? #reefsquad

I'm no expert on Iodine dosing, but i'm almost certain its level wouldn't effect pulsing xenia, I always thought iodine was for colouration. Maybe it's the high nutrients that are causing the issue? After all I managed to kill my xenia with poor maintenance

 

[atul176]

I'm no expert on Iodine dosing, but i'm almost certain its level wouldn't effect pulsing xenia, I always thought iodine was for colouration. Maybe it's the high nutrients that are causing the issue? After all I managed to kill my xenia with poor maintenance

Unfortunately lowering nutrients just yet isn’t an option. And they’re not crazy high either, I have a Kenya tree that is thriving. I don’t know much about the effects of iodine on Xenia so I’ll wait for a bit.

 

[downonthereef]

Unfortunately lowering nutrients just yet isn’t an option. And they’re not crazy high either, I have a Kenya tree that is thriving.

That's another thing, mine Kenya Tree survived whatever the Xenia did not. I also had GSP and a Rhodactis survive this period. So maybe Xenia is a slightly more sensitive softie ‍ How long have you had the tank?

 

[atul176]

That's another thing, mine Kenya Tree survived whatever the Xenia did not. I also had GSP and a Rhodactis survive this period. So maybe Xenia is a slightly more sensitive softie ‍ How long have you had the tank?

It’s almost 6 months old. This whole **** show started since I had to go fallow because I didn’t quarantine a fish, which led to my nutrients bottoming out.

 

[downonthereef]

It’s almost 6 months old. This whole **** show started since I had to go fallow because I didn’t quarantine a fish, which led to my nutrients bottoming out.

What size tank do you have?

 

[atul176]

What size tank do you have?

10 gallons.

 

[Frostblitz20]

i dont think they really need iodine. i know nutrients plays a large part as some people use Xenia as a Nutrients export by ripping it out and letting it regrow.

if you cant keep up with water changes often with you having such a small tank you should try Tropic marins all for reef as its a cheap all in one doser. not advise for large tanks as it gets pricy once you reach around the 80+ gallon mark.

a small bottle will last a 10 gallon for about 2 months for dosing. it includes all trace elements too including iodine.

 

[Red Leader]

Either get test kits or an ICP test. Don't just blindly add chemicals into the tank. Here's a fun anecdote. I accidentally overdosed iodine and one of the side effects was that the Xenia stopped pulsing and shriveled. Here is what my ICP test came back as:

So normal levels of iodine is 30-90. Mine was at 4988! Took me 2 months to get everything back to normal. Careful in blindly dosing your tank.

 

[downonthereef]

Either get test kits or an ICP test. Don't just blindly add chemicals into the tank. Here's a fun anecdote. I accidentally overdosed iodine and one of the side effects was that the Xenia stopped pulsing and shriveled. Here is what my ICP test came back as:

So normal levels of iodine is 30-90. Mine was at 4988! Took me 2 months to get everything back to normal. Careful in blindly dosing your tank.

This is really a prime example of don't dose what you don't test, 5000! Is crazyy though like wow. Did anything else get effected?

 

[Red Leader]

This is really a prime example of don't dose what you don't test, 5000! Is crazyy though like wow. Did anything else get effected?

Let's see if I remember correctly.

Pistol shrimp died
Randall's goby got so freaked out and skittish by the shrimp death that he jumped out of the tank.

Green star polyps withdrew, changed color to a darker green, and the mats started to lift off.
Zoas that died: Pandora, AOI, Watermelons Ricordeas and mushrooms died.
Aiptasia all shriveled (lol)

 

[downonthereef]

Let's see if I remember correctly.

Pistol shrimp died
Randall's goby got so freaked out and skittish by the shrimp death that he jumped out of the tank.

Green star polyps withdrew, changed color to a darker green, and the mats started to lift off.
Zoas that died: Pandora, AOI, Watermelons Ricordeas and mushrooms died.
Aiptasia all shriveled (lol)

Jesus! That's not good