Problems with my zenia?

Question

i bought my zenia about 3 weeks ago and it was pulsating for a couple of days then seemed to slowly stop. the little branhes just seem to be swaying in the water.

i have a 55 gallon with a 220 watt power compact, a power head that is on for about 10 hours, and a filter that both cause water currents. the xenia is placed in the bottom top and middle of my tank. theres 60 pounds of live rock and nothing really blocking it from the light or touching it. i do water changes every monday so my levels should be good plus i have a protain skimmer.the xenia just seems to stretch upward with the very tip of its fingers curled

Answer 1

It's not unusual for Xenia to stop pulsing for a while after it's put into a new environment. Corals are sensitive to lighting,currents, and water chemistry, so I'd start by seeing that these are in ranges that the Xenia prefers.

You don't mention anything about your set-up, so I'll go through some of what the Xenia would need:

LIGHTING - Your lighting should be at least compact fluorescent or T-5, possibly metal halide if your tank is deep. You can also try positioning it midway to near the top of the tank to get it closer to the light source if you don't have MH. If you use MH, only put it about 1/2 way up if the store didn't use MH lighting also - it can take it a while to get accustomed to brighter lighting as well as less intense, but Xenia will like it brighter than what standard fluorescent tubes will provide.

FLOW - Xenia doesn't naturally live in areas with high current, so if it's too close to a filter outlet or powerhead it may stop pulsing. Try moving to an area of less current, or moving the outlet or aiming water flow away from it. Since the pulsing is a way for it to trap its food out of the water, it should begin to pulse again if this is the problem.

WATER CONDITIONS - As always, if something seems unhappy in your tank, make sure the water conditions are where they should be: salinity 1.024-1.026, temperature 76-80oF, ammonia and nitrite = 0, and nitrate as low as possible, definitely below 20ppm.

If you keep shrimp in the tank, make sure they aren't picking at the coral either - even species like camels and peppermints aren't completely reef safe.

Answer 2

is it releasing brown zooxanthellae algae? what are your readings for calcium pH amonia nitrite and nitrate? what is the temp of the water? how long is the tank running? do you use power heads? please posy more info and ill be able to give better advice. Xenia is one of those corals that some people have great success with while others just seem to have disaster with. do you have VHO or metal halide lighting? do you feed your corals? are there any other corals close to the xenia that may be blocking it from the light or stinging the xenia making it close up and not feed? there are so many factors that you need to be really specific especially when dealing with corals to get to the bottom of what is wrong.
Addition: i was having problems with my xenia and copperhead nailed it. Id take his advice he has a lot of great info to offer.

Addition: just because you do water changes doesnt mean the levels are assumed ok. You have to test to be sure. Do you use RO/DI tap water filter? do you add calcium, strontium and molybdenum to the water? As copperhead said do you have shrimp? my problem ended up being my camel shrimp was picking at the xenia's polyp's. Back to what i was saying befor though which i cant stress enough you have to test your water dont make assumptions.

Answer 3

ditto to copper, if possible, and if the powerhead is on toptry moving the xenai down a little so its level with the top of the rock, keep some of the current off

Answer 4

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