Whats everyone's opinions on Pulsing Xenia?

[Gareth elliott]

Another barrium species that looks like a xenia but doesnt spread like it. This is after 3 years this picture. Its added another couple inches in growth this year since i took this picture. Has a toxic mucous so still separate to its own rock so doesn’t touch other corals.

Common name is corky finger.
I like it best in medium to medium high flow.

 

[Ryan420r6]

Another barrium species that looks like a xenia but doesnt spread like it. This is after 3 years this picture. Its added another couple inches in growth this year since i took this picture. Has a toxic mucous so still separate to its own rock so doesn’t touch other corals.

Common name is corky finger.
I like it best in medium to medium high flow.

Does it pulse?

 

[Gareth elliott]

Wouldnt call it pulsing, handles quite a bit of flow so the polyps move with the current a lot. Does retract when disturbed.

 

[427HISS]

Pulsing Xenia is a beautiful coral to watch,......in youtube videos !

We love it, but asexual plants/corals are prolific breeders, consuming any place to add children. Many pond plants like in Florida, are prohibited in many states because their so invasive, that they tunnel into waterways, public lakes, streams and yes, sewage pipes and city filtration systems. Once it get's started it's very difficult to rid. They are very good at soaking up impurities like nitrates and phosphates, both in nature and in reef tanks, but be very,.....careful as it will take over anywhere it can thrive.

One of many information guides.

http://animal-world.com/Aquarium-Coral-Reefs/Pulse-Coral

 

[norfolkgarden]

Does it pulse?

No, no at all. But corky finger is beautiful and easy to care for. And doesn't vomit all over your tank. [emoji6]

The picture is about 2 years of growth and it was started as 2 small stubs about 1.5".

Oh yeah, keep your rocks far enough away from the glass to make scraping off the coralline algae easier. [emoji849]

 

[Seamore2001]

Xenia are really attractive, and when it's happy, prolific. I used to raise them in a spare tank for trading years ago. Keeping it happy is fairly easy as it doesn't require super high lighting but can tolerate it. It prefers lower flow areas, while SPS like high flow, so I generally didn't have a problem with it encroaching on my acros and montis. Xenia do better (and proliferate) with iodine dosing. Also, Xenia seem to do better in a tank in which the water is less pristine - i.e. if you tend to skip water changes and under skim, your Xenia will do better. Since this is the opposite of care for SPS, if your SPS are thriving, your Xenia are probably kept in check naturally.

To keep Xenia in check manually, you can generally dig your fingernail under its base and peel it up or rip it up (ripping will leave tissue behind and likely destroy the coral). Cutting it off at the base is another method, though it might come back in that spot from the remaining base tissue. Nonetheless its easy to keep in check during weekly maintenance.

I like Xenia. It was probably the first coral I added to my first reef years ago. Having recently returned to reefing, it was one of the first that I added again. It is attractive, easy to care for, and if it misbehaves is easy to crop back.

 

[mmw64]

I like it, but this time I placed it on it's own rock so it doesn't take over. I already have enough issues with GSP!

+1

 

[MT. Reefer]

Love Xenia and have had it for years. If you take care of your tank, it's not a problem. Pieces break off and float around until they find something to latch on to. You just need to catch them in this state or just prune them once a month and you should be just fine. I frag mine and take them to my LFS for store credits.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I have a carpet of it in my large tank and they confine themselves to the one area. In pic, (Upper right)

 

[mstockmaster]

My first reef tank. 8 months in, then a year later.

Xenia is a big nope in my book.

 

[Marie7]

I have a nice bunch of it and it hasn't over taken my tank at least not yet, it's spreading but nicely on its own rock , if you like it try it to place it on a big rock on your tank so it doesn't spread without control, I love the fact that adds color ( its pinkish color is awesome) and character to any tank, the fact of see its movements its awesome... I really love it and been very lucky with it.