Pulsating Xenia Question

[Stringztoo1]

Is it a bad thing when the "stalk" or base of the Xenia gets thinner than it was a month ago? I bought it on a tonga branch, and as it has grown it has attatched itself to the rock above/next to it. It is in a light current, all my water levels are right, everything is growing, including the Xenia. Nothing is sick, I have good algae, and the Xenia pulsates and takes in the plankton when I turn off the power head and feed it. The top/tips looks great, but only the base has gotten thinner while the stalks have gotten longer and are multiplyig quickly. Is there anything wrong with it? Thank you so much in advance.

 

[reefer madness1]

I doubt there is anything wrong with it. I also doubt it is eating any plankton.

 

[jdeets]

I had the exact same experience. I placed a frag of Red Sea xenia on a ledge with a large piece of LR just above the ledge. Soon after I introduced the frag to the tank, one stalk of the xenia got longer and thinner, and when it got long enough to touch the LR overhead, it attached to it. The "stem" since has kept stretching and getting thinner, and probably by this afternoon, it will be completely detached from the original colony.

It's just fragging itself. Once it attaches to the rock up higher, it will detach from the original colony. Then you can break out the cigars!

 

[Stringztoo1]

Thank goodness... I was so worried about it because it has done so well and I was following my daily regimen of adding this, adding that, checking this, adding some more of that. I was very concerned about levels, and everything so far has been fine, but the darn stalk just kept getting thinner as the branches got longer.

Yes, one brach is attatched to the rock above it, and about three weeks ago I tried repositioning it for more light, and the Xenia was not too keen on that idea and had made up it's mind it was comfortable where it was so I left it alone.

That's a load off my back for the rest of the day. Will the Xenia completely detatch a branch from the original "trunk" it started from and keep growing?

[ July 16, 2001: Message edited by: Stringztoo ]

 

[jdeets]

I don't know if yours will, but mine is almost completely detached from the original colony now. The stem looks all stretched out like a rubber band and it's now only about 2mm wide where it is still attached. I suspect that by the time I get home from work today, it will be completely detached.