Xenia Frag Help

William Spak · Apr 18, 2019

McFly said:
They attach pretty quick to anything.

I accidentally have a mobile Xenia frag with a mushroom caboose.

That is amazing hahah

McFly · Apr 19, 2019

William Spak said:
Would it be okay if I ask another question here? Or should I make a different thread... its about my duncan coral.. you can sort of see him in one of the photos, he hasn't been out in a while.. maybe he's just stressed?
Regardless thank you guys so much for the help!

Duncan's can be weird and a little finicky, but pretty hardy overall. If your parameters remain stable they are very hard to kill. Got a better pic you can post? (The glare in the top picture makes it hard to tell if anything is wrong with it.)

Jeight · Apr 19, 2019

Welcome to R2R!!!

Salty Lemon · Apr 19, 2019

McFly said:
Duncan's can be weird and a little finicky, but pretty hardy overall. If your parameters remain stable they are very hard to kill. Got a better pic you can post? (The glare in the top picture makes it hard to tell if anything is wrong with it.)

@McFly is right. How long have you had the duncan? Generally, if you have sick fish or corals, you should post your water parameters as well. It gives others on the forum a chance to see your overall aquarium health and offer advice. With your duncan, it is hard to know what is wrong without the water parameters or a photo. Duncans are hearty and like flow, but they don't like the current blasting straight on them. They will hide if there is too much flow. This has happened to me before. If this is the case, just redirect your powerhead/wavemaker. If he is brand-new to your tank, he might just be adjusting. Sometimes corals hide for a few days before they come out. He also might not like his location due to too much light or various conditions. I move my corals around the tank at first to see where they open up the best -- then that is where I permanently place them.

William Spak · Apr 19, 2019

Salty Lemon said:
@McFly is right. How long have you had the duncan? Generally, if you have sick fish or corals, you should post your water parameters as well. It gives others on the forum a chance to see your overall aquarium health and offer advice. With your duncan, it is hard to know what is wrong without the water parameters or a photo. Duncans are hearty and like flow, but they don't like the current blasting straight on them. They will hide if there is too much flow. This has happened to me before. If this is the case, just redirect your powerhead/wavemaker. If he is brand-new to your tank, he might just be adjusting. Sometimes corals hide for a few days before they come out. He also might not like his location due to too much light or various conditions. I move my corals around the tank at first to see where they open up the best -- then that is where I permanently place them.

@McFly @Salty Lemon
I have had him for a decent amount of time.. maybe a month... or a little bit more?

Nitrite : 0ppm
Nitrate : ~160ppm (off the charts high... I don't know why?)
pH: 8.0
Ammonia: .5ppm
Calcium: Could not get a good read.. I think when I was shaking it, some of the liquid came out of the bottle.

William Spak · Apr 20, 2019

Also, update on the Xenia... Is this a good spot?
I notice that he is not pulsating his heads.. they look sort of shriveled up.
Will this fix with time?
Thanks!

Salty Lemon · Apr 20, 2019

William Spak said:
Also, update on the Xenia... Is this a good spot?
I notice that he is not pulsating his heads.. they look sort of shriveled up.
Will this fix with time?
Thanks!

Will, how long have you had your tank set up? Has it fully cycled yet?

McFly · Apr 20, 2019

New Xenia spot looks good. They don't always pulse, should be fine over time.

It appears there is algae growing on the rim of the Duncan, which is not a good sign:

Very angry coral right now.

What test kit for Nitrates? You might want a second opinion to confirm.

If 160 is true its time for a couple 50% water changes, I would try to get it down to around 20 ppm ASAP; that will help all your coral and fish.

William Spak · Apr 20, 2019

Salty Lemon said:
Will, how long have you had your tank set up? Has it fully cycled yet?

The test kit for the Nitrates is from the API master test kit. @McFly

It has been up since August of last year.

Salty Lemon · Apr 20, 2019

William Spak said:
The test kit for the Nitrates is from the API master test kit. @McFly

It has been up since August of last year.

Hmmm. Not good. I'd go with what McFly said...do a large water change. The nitrates should not be that high in a tank as old as yours so long as you have been doing regular water changes. You may be over feeding. Did you recently put a bunch of fish in the tank all at once? Your bioload may be more than you tank can take right now.

William Spak · Apr 20, 2019

Salty Lemon said:
Hmmm. Not good. I'd go with what McFly said...do a large water change. The nitrates should not be that high in a tank as old as yours so long as you have been doing regular water changes. You may be over feeding. Did you recently put a bunch of fish in the tank all at once? Your bioload may be more than you tank can take right now.

I will do a large water change. We recently switched to RO water, we were using our regular tap water for a long time

I dont think I have been over feeding... although when I had my anenome a couple months ago we tried to feed him a LOT, unfortunately he never ate.. so maybe it is still recovering from that?

How would I go about a 50% water change? Will everything be ok? It is only 35 gallon
I am happy to do it as long as everything will be safe and happy.

Salty Lemon · Apr 20, 2019

William Spak said:
I will do a large water change. We recently switched to RO water, we were using our regular tap water for a long time I dont think I have been over feeding... although when I had my anenome a couple months ago we tried to feed him a LOT, unfortunately he never ate.. so maybe it is still recovering from that?

How would I go about a 50% water change? Will everything be ok? It is only 35 gallon
I am happy to do it as long as everything will be safe and happy.

There are no guarantees. But it will reduce the amount of nitrates in your tank temporarily. But if nothing changes, it will climb back up again. When I first started out reefing, I lost almost my entire tank due to high nitrates within 24 hours. It is something that you need to stay on top of. Feed only what your fish will eat in a few minutes. Do weekly water changes. Don't put too many fish in your tank all at once and don't over stock. Here are a couple previous threads about nitrates that may help you. Good luck! You will get through this.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/nitrate.564218/#post-5778993
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/how-to-lower-nitrates-in-a-saltwater-aquarium.561888/
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/help-on-reducing-nitrates.443439/

Phil D. · Apr 20, 2019

I like the Pulsing Zenia, but as was said, it grows fast. I read a while ago that there is a "Zenia Crab" that lives in/around the zenia and eats it, but doesn't eat all of it. Basically cultivating his own private food source. Wish they had this crab in the hobby.

William Spak · Apr 20, 2019

@Salty Lemon

I just went to the fish store and they tested my Nitrates to be around 20ppm... maybe it is something wrong with my test kit ? so noticed when he was taking the test he did not shake bottle #2 for nearly enough time but he said it didn’t matter... Could this be why my results are drastically different ?

In addition, he also said it could be my lighting. I have an aquaillumination prime. He says it may be too strong for the duncan... what lighting preset would you recommend?

Thanks

William Spak · Apr 20, 2019

McFly said:
New Xenia spot looks good. They don't always pulse, should be fine over time.

It appears there is algae growing on the rim of the Duncan, which is not a good sign:

Very angry coral right now.

What test kit for Nitrates? You might want a second opinion to confirm.

If 160 is true its time for a couple 50% water changes, I would try to get it down to around 20 ppm ASAP; that will help all your coral and fish.

Hey... the people at the fish store tested it to be around 20ppm... he suggested it could be my lighting. I have an aquaillumination prime... is there a pre set you can recommend me?
Thanks

Salty Lemon · Apr 20, 2019

William Spak said:
@Salty Lemon

I just went to the fish store and they tested my Nitrates to be around 20ppm... maybe it is something wrong with my test kit ? so noticed when he was taking the test he did not shake bottle #2 for nearly enough time but he said it didn’t matter... Could this be why my results are drastically different ?

In addition, he also said it could be my lighting. I have an aquaillumination prime. He says it may be too strong for the duncan... what lighting preset would you recommend?

Thanks

I'm definitely not a lighting expert -- far from it. I only know what works for my tank and under my lights. You can try to turn down the light level and see if the duncan comes out after a day or so. Duncans are suggested to be placed in the low to middle part of the tank, which generally indicates they need a lower PAR. Have you done a partial water change? Did you retest your water?

William Spak · Apr 20, 2019

Salty Lemon said:
I'm definitely not a lighting expert -- far from it. I only know what works for my tank and under my lights. You can try to turn down the light level and see if the duncan comes out after a day or so. Duncans are suggested to be placed in the low to middle part of the tank, which generally indicates they need a lower PAR. Have you done a partial water change? Did you retest your water?

I am going to do a 30% water change right now.. does that sound good? Should I retest a bit after ?