Xenia and Iodine Discussion

[Reef_Angel]

That's for sure. We really like it and all we have are two small clumps. I think they like their water a particular way or something. We must not have enough of something in our water that it likes. Anyone know the secret?

[peregrinus]

they love iodine. form what i hear.

[davejnz]

xenia can be unpredctable,My first Xenia was the pom-pom variety and it never took off.'I bought some X.elongata and that stuff grew like a weed.I have since removed it from my system and transferred the pom-pom to my LPS tank.I placed it next to the glass and it really started to grow fast.I think with vertical placement,it encourages it to divide and spread..BTW,never added iodine.

[Whoyah]

I remounted the xenia again tonight and moved it in to better spot. The super glue didn't hold the first time. He was looking pretty good until started messing with him. All bunched up tight right now. Maybe I will post a pic this weekend.

[Buiryn]

I hear Xenia is a hit or miss for most tanks. I must be lucky because it grows like a weed in my tank. I got a small frag with maybe 3-4 stalks of it and in a month it's doubled in size, then doubled again the next moth. I placed it up high near some indirect water flow then placed a torch coral next to it to stop it's side-wise progression. The only place it has to go now is up the side of the overflow box which is fine by me. When ever I want to create a frag, I just place a small rock in the center of the patch and in a week it'll be covered.

Matt

[dakar]

I remounted the xenia again tonight and moved it in to better spot. The super glue didn't hold the first time. He was looking pretty good until started messing with him. All bunched up tight right now. Maybe I will post a pic this weekend.

We've found superglue to be a waste of time trying to mount xenia, so far the best method has proven to be a needle and thread to tie them to a rock, or letting that naturally attach.

[Grandmaster_Toad]

!st of all like to say thanks to angel for inviting me to join CR. I will pass on info to all of WWRC.

Xenia Xenia Xenia.... I have had tons of that stuff (mostly pulsing) in my tanks....
It grew like a weed....on glass, overflows, rocks, everything...
Xenia loves lottsa light, medium flow,good ph, and CALCIUM.... lots and lots of calcium. Xenia is a calcium hog. I watched a fellow reefer add teaspoon after teaspoon to his top off water and after 4 days...his calcium levels barely moved...his coraline algae wasnt growing and his sos were slow to prop. He took out Xenia by the hand fulls....3 days later....calcium back up to acceptable levels.

Great stuff to watch....hard on a captive system if colonies start to grow out of control.

My sugesstion is to keep it secluded on a rock in the sand bed...keep you colony a reasonable size.

Happy Reefing
GT

[Grandmaster_Toad]

Have to agree with Dakar.... super and Xenia dont mix. The xenias protective slime coat makes the glue almost worthless.
I have never tried the needle and thread..sounds like a great solution. I have tried with good success the toothpick method.
Simply take a toothpick and poke it through or into the Xenia frag then secure the toothpick ..... The xenia will grow around the toothpick and eventually dissolve it.
I have found this works with some mushrooms as well.


GT

[dakar]

Actually, GT that green sinula (sp?) frag you were kind enough to share with us a little while back decided it didn't like the glue either. So I used the thread trick, attached herself in a few days or so and is doing quite well :)

BTW Welcome Aboard!!!!!!!!!

[peregrinus]

BTW,never added iodine.

why do you say this? just curious. i don't add any my self thats just what i'v heard. mine grows like crazy and to attach cuttings i just make a rubble pile and put the xeina there and it attaches it self.

[davejnz]

just wanted to point out that the xenia can thrive without iodine additions,thats all ;) .I think there is alot of misinformation on trace elements needed,particularly Iodine uptake in soft corals.Everyone was using it in the late 90's.Heck,I even dosed it for months just because that was what everyone was doing.I never saw any positive results so i stopped.

[Reptoreef]

BTW, another method that aides in the attachment of the softies is bridal veil draped over the frag(snuggly, not tight) and temporarely mounted to the LR.

[Buiryn]

BTW, another method that aides in the attachment of the softies is bridal veil draped over the frag(snuggly, not tight) and temporarily mounted to the LR.

I prefer the shot glass method myself. However, after a few of my shotglasse's markings came off in the water I've since stopped using them in favor of the cheap small disposable plastic containers. They're a bit wider than a shot glass (which IMHO is a good thing), disposable, and has no markings to dissolve in the water. I put some crushed coral in the bottom, and put the softie frags inside. The lip provides shelter from the current and allows the frag to attach. The only downside is, I have to rescue the hermits that tend to fall in there since they then can't get out.

Matt

[peregrinus]

ok i don't use it i was lust wondering. that metheod works great for softies..

[dakar]

There are just so many variables to take into account. For instance, our water source (shallow well) has no measurable amount of iodine/iodide in it, even at 10X the normal resolution of the test kit. Even after adding the salt mix there is barely any trace amounts, and what little there was is very quickly consumed within days, something in the reef is taking it up quickly. So we do supplement a bit, trying to hold around 1ppm iodine. Since starting we have seen some remarkable improvements in a lot of critters, our shrimp molt every few weeks now, and the xenia appears healthier and grows faster, when the levels fall off things aren't quite as happy.

But I would think this is more an isolated case and not the norm by any means. I think most marketed supplements are just that, marketed, a scam that people throw money at that do not need it, the new fad of this or that.

But I will not and do not recommend adding anything that cannot be directly tested for.

[peregrinus]

i agree with dakar alway test if you suplment. dakar there are lots of ppl in our reef club that dose iodine to help with molts and some coral growth. i do know that shrimp and crabs cannot molt right if the iodine in the water is not right. as far as xeina goes i could not say cause mine grows like crazy without doseing.

[Whoyah]

Well, I was planning on dosing some iodine just to see if it made a difference. I have an almost full bottle of Red Sea Iodine. I just need a test kit. I figured a Saliferts. At least that way I can have an opinion on dosing iodine. ;)

[Whoyah]

You guys were right :notworthy:, the superglue didn't work. I implemented plan B tonight. The shotglass idea gave me some inspiration. :smt115 I am pretty short on rubble so I made a couple "rock pots". I took two swished baseball size pieces of LR and punched a finger size hole in both of them. A mason drill bit and an old screwdriver work well for this. One broke in half so I had two pieces. The other I drilled a small cross hole in. Then I cut the two branched of xenia apart for ease of mounting. One branch went in the Xenia/rock sandwich held together by a tie wrap. The other branch went in the rock pot and pinned through by a sharpened tie wrap. Both look pretty good. Hopefully the xenia will attach to the rock now. This will be a good start to Xenia Island. :D

[dakar]

good deal! Be sure to follow up with your results! pictures are just about a must! Another note from personal experience, since they are so tempermental, be sure to keep the frags in the same system they came from (minus as much slime as possible) low to moderate flow, and decent lighting, they'll attach in a week or so.

[peregrinus]

wow a week? mine attach in a day or 2. the last batch i just cut and took to the LFS i set in a rubbel patch some of them attached to the glass. they did not want to go to the LFS i guess.. lol anyways i cut them dropped them in my rubbel patch and in a day or 2 they were attached to rock and glass. do i have supper xeina? lol

[dakar]

:lol: :lol: you must have, either that or we just have horrible luck, once they attatch the go nuts, but its the initial battle of getting them to attach we fight so hard.

I see the Effects Shop has been hard at work Mr. SUPER XENIA! :)

[peregrinus]

yeah i thought that would be a cool name :D

[Whoyah]

I need some opinions. The xenia in the sandwich is looking really good. The other one is not. (Sad in front, happy in back) I am worried the sad one might be on the way to a meltdown, which defiantly want to avoid. The frag was free so throwing away half won't hurt much.

P.S. Can't seem to post a pic on a reply so I will start a new thread called Stay or Go. Perhaps Dakar can fix the problem.

P.S. 2 Or not. Can't seem to post a pic today. Maybe in the gallary?

[dakar]

Try again now....

[Whoyah]

Thanks Dakar. I will repost a larger picture when I get home.

Thats better.

[Whoyah]

Well the sad branch went bye bye tonight. It was very limp and very pale. I feel much better not having to worry about a melt down. The other branch looks great.

[dakar]

Don't give up on it just yet, we've had two colonies go through a total meltdown, we simply left it alone, within a few weeks new braches and polyps formed from those piles of goo, a month later they are two inches tall and growing a new 'trunk' under the branches, amazing animals. It seems only a few surviving cells are all that's needed to regrow into a new colony.

[Whoyah]

To late. Its in the freezer waiting for garbage day. :roll: In the past, I have played the wait and see game and gotten burned. The other branch is an excellent start anyways.

[peregrinus]

i had a stalk that got stung by my BTA i though it was a goner too. it was down to almost a blob put it in the refug and it came back to life. those and roaches are the only things that are going to survive a nuclear blast

[davejnz]

those finicky Xenia,such poor shippers and sometimes dont acclimate to other peoples systems.Dont worry Whoyah,you'll get some that will acclimate and when they do,whatch out,they grow like a weed.Just exported about 10 colonies of Pom-Pom this week to a friends tank.Curious to see how they take in his tank.