Xenia will not survive in my tank

[BSej]

Hi,

I have all different kinds of coral, but Xenia just doesn't want to survive in my tank. My initial piece melted away within a few days, after getting covered in some purple slimy stringy stuff. The second piece kinda just melted as well but no slimy stuff this time. I got another tiny piece to try again and it just looks sadder every day. All of my other corals are doing fine/great.

The only other corals that have died were a GSP, I got another one and it's doing well so far (few days in). And a clove polyp that hardly opened from the moment it entered until it died. I've got like 35 other pieces doing well.

Fish
4 x Clown fish	1 x Blue damsal	1 x One-spot foxface
1 x Sailfin tang	1 x Chocolate tang	1 x Red dragonnette goby
1 x firefish	1 x Formosa wrasse	2 x Anthias
	1 x striped fang Blenny	1 x Bluejaw trigger
	1 x pixie hawk
1 x Scopas tang	1 x neon dottyback

I haven't seen the one-spot fox face pick at anything except briefly on one SPS, but seems to be done with that. I don't see any of the other fish picking at any corals.

I did just lose a firefish for reasons I'm not sure of.

Calcium - 450
Alkalinity - 10.4
Phosphate - .2-.5 (color strip test)
Nitrate - 20 (color strip test, I ordered Salifert it's on the way)
Salinity - 35.5

 

[JayM]

It’s definitely interesting that you can’t keep the two types of coral that most people will say can grow in a toilet, yet everything else is fine.

I wish I had some worthy advice.

 

[KrisReef]

It’s definitely interesting that you can’t keep the two types of coral that most people will say can grow in a toilet, yet everything else is fine.

I wish I had some worthy advice.

Agree, but would add; "Be thankful the others are doing well. Not growing weeds is a gardeners dream."

 

[twentyleagues]

I have the same issues with the same corals, cloves dying, xenia going down hill, Havent tried gsp, I dont care for it. I've grown xenia in the past....too well. I have never had luck with cloves for whatever reason. i've got hammers, torches, duncans, zoas, palys, gorgs, all doing well. I think cloves and xenia really need a dirtier tank. How old is the tank? Mine is about 8-10 weeks old corals transferred over from another tank 3-4 weeks ago, except xenia and cloves those were new pick ups.

 

[I never finish anythi]

Honestly I would be happy if Xenia would not survive in my tank . It's a horrible coral which I would not recommend to my worse enemy.

 

[twentyleagues]

Aww come on guys xenia is nice when handled properly. NO! not with fire.

 

[BSej]

I have the same issues with the same corals, cloves dying, xenia going down hill, Havent tried gsp, I dont care for it. I've grown xenia in the past....too well. I have never had luck with cloves for whatever reason. i've got hammers, torches, duncans, zoas, palys, gorgs, all doing well. I think cloves and xenia really need a dirtier tank. How old is the tank? Mine is about 8-10 weeks old corals transferred over from another tank 3-4 weeks ago, except xenia and cloves those were new pick ups.

The tank itself is a couple years old but it was fish only for a while. Added rock, sand, and corals within the last 2-3 months.

 

[The_Paradox]

My guess would be something is eating it.

 

[Dan_P]

Hi,

I have all different kinds of coral, but Xenia just doesn't want to survive in my tank. My initial piece melted away within a few days, after getting covered in some purple slimy stringy stuff. The second piece kinda just melted as well but no slimy stuff this time. I got another tiny piece to try again and it just looks sadder every day. All of my other corals are doing fine/great.

The only other corals that have died were a GSP, I got another one and it's doing well so far (few days in). And a clove polyp that hardly opened from the moment it entered until it died. I've got like 35 other pieces doing well.

Fish
4 x Clown fish	1 x Blue damsal	1 x One-spot foxface
1 x Sailfin tang	1 x Chocolate tang	1 x Red dragonnette goby
1 x firefish	1 x Formosa wrasse	2 x Anthias
	1 x striped fang Blenny	1 x Bluejaw trigger
	1 x pixie hawk
1 x Scopas tang	1 x neon dottyback

I haven't seen the one-spot fox face pick at anything except briefly on one SPS, but seems to be done with that. I don't see any of the other fish picking at any corals.

I did just lose a firefish for reasons I'm not sure of.

Calcium - 450
Alkalinity - 10.4
Phosphate - .2-.5 (color strip test)
Nitrate - 20 (color strip test, I ordered Salifert it's on the way)
Salinity - 35.5

Could your light be too bright? Xenia is a low light soft coral.

 

[twentyleagues]

The tank itself is old but it was fish only for a while. Added rock, sand, and corals within the last 2-3 months.

hmmm. I know my nutrients are out of whack which is probably my issue. I've got 15-20 nitrate and 0-.03 phosphate ( if the 15 yr old hannah is correct ). I'm sure my dry rock is sucking up any phosphate I add to the tank. I can feed my other corals and I do every couple days so they will get nutrition directly but i have never seen xenia "eat". I douse the cloves and xenia in the water from thawing frozen. I broadcast feed reefroids once a week, dont think anything in my tank likes it. Well I am unsure why either of us cant grow the "devils coral" lol.

 

[exnisstech]

First few years most of the coral you have problems with I did as well. It's was strange as more difficult stuff like LPS and even some easier SPS would do fine and the weeds would die . Zoas would die as well. 7 years later xenia along with gsp are thriving. I gave up trying to figure out why some stuff thrives and other dies and just try to stick with what doesn't die. I think my list of what I can not keep is almost as long as the list of what I keep is

 

[flashsmith]

 

[BSej]

Could your light be too bright? Xenia is a low light soft coral.

No it gets about 50 PAR

 

[threebuoys]

I can't keep Xenia alive either. The last piece I bought from a LFS was huge, two 6-inch-tall stalks. The day after I put it in the tank, I watched my sailfin tang eat the entire coral in a matter of 24hours.

 

[KrisReef]

hmmm. I know my nutrients are out of whack which is probably my issue. I've got 15-20 nitrate and 0-.03 phosphate ( if the 15 yr old hannah is correct ). I'm sure my dry rock is sucking up any phosphate I add to the tank. I can feed my other corals and I do every couple days so they will get nutrition directly but i have never seen xenia "eat". I douse the cloves and xenia in the water from thawing frozen. I broadcast feed reefroids once a week, dont think anything in my tank likes it. Well I am unsure why either of us cant grow the "devils coral" lol.

This is a simple thing to understand. The corals that you are taking special care of our dying in spite, like corals often do. Stop feeding it, ignore it, and it will overrun the tank.

 

[Dan_P]

No it gets about 50 PAR

Could the other corals in some way be killing the Xenia. Dying in a few days is very fast.

 

[BSej]

Could the other corals in some way be killing the Xenia. Dying in a few days is very fast.

There’s nothing near this new piece and it’s been in there a few days and looks like it has a few more.

 

[I never finish anythi]

I can't keep Xenia alive either. The last piece I bought from a LFS was huge, two 6-inch-tall stalks. The day after I put it in the tank, I watched my sailfin tang eat the entire coral in a matter of 24hours.

I need that tang!!!

 

[Koty]

Folowing. They do not survive in my tank. My last Xenia frag was "contaminated" with a small acropora. The Xenia died after 2 weeks and the acropora grew very fast.
Your alkalinity is very high and I am not sure I would trust a strip for parameters. My guess is that some tanks have the "wrong" bacterial population or a missing bacterial species.

 

[RockBox13]

Xenia won’t grow? Congratulations.