Xenia Coral Shriveling

Hey! Just bought my first coral! I placed my new Xenia coral in my tank and as soon as it got into my tank all the”branches” sucked into the main stock and now they aren’t moving. As you can guess I know nothing about coral, so if someone could help me out I’d appreciate it. Is this common behavior in new Xenia? Is my water too cold? (72 Fahrenheit). Any advice would be appreciated!

 

First off, xenia is tough, so it'll probably be fine. It is not uncommon for corals to retract for a little while upon transfer, particularly with newer tanks.

Yes, your water is too cold. I'd suggest you slowly bring it up to at least 78°F, by about 1 degree per day. Otherwise, you'll have to look to your testing to be sure the water is fine. You are cycled, yes? Nitrates? Salinity? Alkalinity is another one to keep a close eye on, but regular water changes using marine salt should have your's stable here in the early days, as it's the corals that use it up.

 

First off, xenia is tough, so it'll probably be fine. It is not uncommon for corals to retract for a little while upon transfer, particularly with newer tanks.

Yes, your water is too cold. I'd suggest you slowly bring it up to at least 78°F, by about 1 degree per day. Otherwise, you'll have to look to your testing to be sure the water is fine. You are cycled, yes? Nitrates? Salinity? Alkalinity is another one to keep a close eye on, but regular water changes using marine salt should have your's stable here in the early days, as it's the corals that use it up.

My tank is not cycled yet, but I assumed coral would be fine like that because there aren’t any fish in yet, so there shouldn’t be any ammonia right?

 

First off, xenia is tough, so it'll probably be fine. It is not uncommon for corals to retract for a little while upon transfer, particularly with newer tanks.

Yes, your water is too cold. I'd suggest you slowly bring it up to at least 78°F, by about 1 degree per day. Otherwise, you'll have to look to your testing to be sure the water is fine. You are cycled, yes? Nitrates? Salinity? Alkalinity is another one to keep a close eye on, but regular water changes using marine salt should have your's stable here in the early days, as it's the corals that use it up.

How long would you say it should take for it to begin acting normal?

 

First off, xenia is tough, so it'll probably be fine. It is not uncommon for corals to retract for a little while upon transfer, particularly with newer tanks.

Yes, your water is too cold. I'd suggest you slowly bring it up to at least 78°F, by about 1 degree per day. Otherwise, you'll have to look to your testing to be sure the water is fine. You are cycled, yes? Nitrates? Salinity? Alkalinity is another one to keep a close eye on, but regular water changes using marine salt should have your's stable here in the early days, as it's the corals that use it up.

I think I found the issue with my coral, don’t laugh at me but the salinity of my water was at 1.014. I’ve been adding salt water to the tank slowly today, hoping to raise it.

 

My tank is not cycled yet, but I assumed coral would be fine like that because there aren’t any fish in yet, so there shouldn’t be any ammonia right?

Hmm, there could be ammonia depending on the rocks you used. Have you tested? It's not a good idea to put corals in before a cycle, because I'd imagine that at some point you will be cycling. Any levels of ammonia or nitrites are toxic to them just as it is to fish. Most corals don't tolerate very high nitrates either, and any and all of these things will happen during a cycle... unless you happen to have some salty cycled media.

How long would you say it should take for it to begin acting normal?

There's no telling. A few of my corals were mad for several weeks after first introducing them to my tank. This happened with some of my first corals but does not anymore with a more mature tank. It's important to leave the coral alone and just keep an eye on water quality.

 

Hmm, there could be ammonia depending on the rocks you used. Have you tested? It's not a good idea to put corals in before a cycle, because I'd imagine that at some point you will be cycling. Any levels of ammonia or nitrites are toxic to them just as it is to fish. Most corals don't tolerate very high nitrates either, and any and all of these things will happen during a cycle... unless you happen to have some salty cycled media.


There's no telling. A few of my corals were mad for several weeks after first introducing them to my tank. This happened with some of my first corals but does not anymore with a more mature tank. It's important to leave the coral alone and just keep an eye on water quality.

Thanks for the advice! I finally got my salinity to a safe level (1.024) and now he has started to perk up a bit. I’ll be very careful during my cycle to make sure he stays happy and healthy.

 

Thanks for the advice! I finally got my salinity to a safe level (1.024) and now he has started to perk up a bit. I’ll be very careful during my cycle to make sure he stays happy and healthy.

Hey! Would a 80gph powerhead be too much for a 10 gallon tank?

 

Nope... I've got one on a 5 gallon in addition to an Aquaclear 20 going on low. Generally, reef tanks want flow at 15-20x the water volume, and much higher for some SPS dominated tanks.

 

Nope... I've got one on a 5 gallon in addition to an Aquaclear 20 going on low. Generally, reef tanks want flow at 15-20x the water volume, and much higher for some SPS dominated tanks.

Okay, I switched to the 160 gph! I’m buying some stuff to raise my ph a bit, and another thing to supplement calcium. I hear that calcium is important in reef tanks. I’m mostly going with soft corals!

 

I wouldn't buy pH or calcium products. Yes, they are important, but good saltwater will provide all the corals need. Softies don't use calcium like other corals so the level provided by marine salt is enough. Same goes for pH.

After some time with corals growing in the tank you will be testing for these things. Only if and when you see pH, calcium, alkalinity or magnesium levels dropping will you know you need to dose for anything.

I'm a year in with lots of stony corals and I've only recently started dosing. They've grown and gotten larger, so the uptake is greater now.

Alkalinity is generally more important to keep an eye on and should be tested weekly.

Btw, how are you providing saltwater for the tank?

 

I wouldn't buy pH or calcium products. Yes, they are important, but good saltwater will provide all the corals need. Softies don't use calcium like other corals so the level provided by marine salt is enough. Same goes for pH.

After some time with corals growing in the tank you will be testing for these things. Only if and when you see pH, calcium, alkalinity or magnesium levels dropping will you know you need to dose for anything.

I'm a year in with lots of stony corals and I've only recently started dosing. They've grown and gotten larger, so the uptake is greater now.

Alkalinity is generally more important to keep an eye on and should be tested weekly.

Btw, how are you providing saltwater for the tank?

Well I think I should dose for ph because I did a test strip today, granted it was for freshwater, but it said my ph was 6.2. I’m probably gonna bring a sample in to get tested to verify just in case.

 

I wouldn't buy pH or calcium products. Yes, they are important, but good saltwater will provide all the corals need. Softies don't use calcium like other corals so the level provided by marine salt is enough. Same goes for pH.

After some time with corals growing in the tank you will be testing for these things. Only if and when you see pH, calcium, alkalinity or magnesium levels dropping will you know you need to dose for anything.

I'm a year in with lots of stony corals and I've only recently started dosing. They've grown and gotten larger, so the uptake is greater now.

Alkalinity is generally more important to keep an eye on and should be tested weekly.

Btw, how are you providing saltwater for the tank?

I’ve been buying RodI water from my life and mixing in salt

 

May I ask which salt you're using? The salt is where all the minerals/buffers come from, so it will acheive pH.

 

May I ask which salt you're using? The salt is where all the minerals/buffers come from, so it will acheive pH.

Instant ocean

 

Instant Ocean is perfect! Many, many famous aquaculturists and giant aquarium centers use it. Check out Jason Fox's tanks sometime. He is one of the US's top aquaculturists and runs his beautiful tanks/business on Instant Ocean, (IO).

If you are mixing IO with RODI to 35ppt you will achieve perfect parameters for your corals. It's best to use a refractometer to measure salinity. They are quick, easy, relatively cheap, and much more reliable than hydrometers.

You also might want to mark or take note of your waterline when the tank is full and salinity is correct. This will help in knowing how much fresh top off water you need every day. Salinity is the first parameter to learn to manage, and water evaporates but salt does not, hence, freshwater top offs. In smaller tanks, salinity can rise a bit faster than in larger volumes, so for this reason, some nano keepers find that they need to top off twice a day to maintain a stable salt level.

 

Instant Ocean is perfect! Many, many famous aquaculturists and giant aquarium centers use it. Check out Jason Fox's tanks sometime. He is one of the US's top aquaculturists and runs his beautiful tanks/business on Instant Ocean, (IO).

If you are mixing IO with RODI to 35ppt you will achieve perfect parameters for your corals. It's best to use a refractometer to measure salinity. They are quick, easy, relatively cheap, and much more reliable than hydrometers.

You also might want to mark or take note of your waterline when the tank is full and salinity is correct. This will help in knowing how much fresh top off water you need every day. Salinity is the first parameter to learn to manage, and water evaporates but salt does not, hence, freshwater top offs. In smaller tanks, salinity can rise a bit faster than in larger volumes, so for this reason, some nano keepers find that they need to top off twice a day to maintain a stable salt level.

Awesome! So you’re saying I should be fine with what I have even if my test says my ph is 6.2?

 

If you're mixed to 35ppt with IO and RODI then I would question the accuracy of the pH test. You can't be too careful, so I would double check with the LFS it another test as soon as possible.

 

If you're mixed to 35ppt with IO and RODI then I would question the accuracy of the pH test. You can't be too careful, so I would double check with the LFS it another test as soon as possible.

I bought some gsp today! Hoping to have better luck than the Xenia.