pulsing xenia
 

what would cause my xenia not to pulse i have run multiple warter testes. all ok . the only thing that consernes me is that mu ph is only 8.2 i heard xenia like 8.5 . is this true .

thanx for the help

What's your alkalinity?? Apparently they like a higher alk too.

Christy :)

How old is the tank, how often do you do water changes, do you filter your tap water????

Xenia likes strong light and NEEDS iodide, if you are not doing your water changes, and you don't have a good quality aragonite bed your Xenia may need Iodide suppliments, DON'T just add Iodide though it is easy to over dose and too much is worse than not enough.

FWIW, I had the biggest clumps of pulsing xenia that you can imagine in my old 72gal and it pulsed through low alk and no addition of iodine. I'm not sure why yours has stopped pulsing but I'd guess low pH (or at least check that as a possible reason). I've also read what both BCOG and Christy have suggested, I know I had low alkalinity and my Salifert test kit showed no reading on iodide whatsover (I have to think I had some in my system but have read that hobby level kits are a waste of money and I tend to agree). Xenia is a funny little creature, it will thrive in one set up and crash in another for no apparent reason.

The only thing I could tell that ever affected the pulsing of my xenia was lighting. The more the better - in lower lighting it would slow down and stop altogether.

dont get me wrong it is actually growing just not pulsing any more my kh is at 17 . i thought that was to high . i do a 20gal water change aprox every month . its a 90 gal tank . it has been up as a 90 for 2 months but the system was origionaly a 50gal that was up for 5 months . my tanks lighting is 2 4'vho and 4 4't3 actinics . they also prefer low flow ?

thanx for the help

i moved it into a lower turbulant area earlyer tonight an it receded . i just checked the tank and they are starting to open back up and pulse they aren't full out lets see if they stay pulsing

i, like troy, have found xenia to be a most mind boggling creature.
i have kept xenia for several years and i still do not know what makes it tick.

FWIW, i have some xenia elongata, the most common of the xenias, and while most people find this xenia to be extremely easy to keep and display rapid growth and spreading, that has never been my case. although it remains healthy, it barely grows/spreads.

i do have great success with another variety of xenia.

i would not chase numbers of alk/pH in hopes of enticing the xenia to pulse. if your tank is healthy and stable, i would leave it that way. my water parameters are fairly stable, that is, any changes dont occur overnight. but i have kept xenia in low and high alk, probably pH as well.

though my xenia has never stopped pulsing altogether, it has slowed down at times, and at times it pulses very rapidly.

i don't think water flow or light affects its pulsing either.
i have some xenia near the top of my tank (400W MH) and right infront of a powerhead, and it still pulses. i also have some xenia on the sand bed, and it pulses.

i know that doesnt help you much, but i personally would just let the xenia be, as long aas it is still healthy.

the only thing that pops into my mind is this, perhaps the xenia pulses in order to feed itself. if this is the case, you think the xenia would regulate its pulsing on how much food source is readily available in the water column. more=less pulsing, less=more pulsing in order to meet its feeding demands??? just a theory.

I have high Alk and my pH is 8.5 and my Xenia doesn't pulse either. I've tried high flow, low flow, no flow, doesn't make any difference. It does appear healthy though. Go figure. :?

Same with mine... seems healthy, just won't pulse. I've even prayed to the Xenia Gods and left offerings of nubile young virgin snails, but still no pulse.

Bad Xenia Karma, I guess.

Noel