Xenia

[Gooseman]

I bought a frogspawn about 8 months ago from my LFS ... after about 6 weeks of having it i noticed a hitchhiker coral growing on the frogspawn skeleton ... i let it grow for another month and realized it was xenia ... i questioned the LFS about it because they had nothing like it in their store ... this one isnt as feathery and white like i have seen before and it has a zebra like appearence (stripes) when the lights go off and it shrinks up ... does anyone have a clue as to exactly what type of xenia this is juding by the picture?

 

[yote]

That looks more like some type of Anthelia to me.Which is in the same family as Xenia.

 

[Bifferwine]

That also looks like anthelia to me. Anthelia has feathered fingers at the end, and the "hands" look like stars -- just like in your pic.

 

[Gooseman]

well at least its in the xenia family ... it grows quite quickly and looks nice now that its bigger ... kinda sucked when it was so small ... i wasnt even sure it would last long ... by the way i read an article that says Anthelia doesnt pulsate but mine does and fairly quickly ... here is the website i found

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-02/ac/feature/index.php

 

[yote]

There is a type of Anthelia that pulses.But they are more apt to not pulse in captivity.

 

[Gooseman]

well at least it doesnt just lay there doing nothing right ... when i frag it eventually ... how much credit per rock/head do you think the LFS will give for it ... just some early research so i know what to expect ... Biff what does your LFS give you for your xenia?

 

[ccCapt]

I think you should frag it and sell it as LE Super Rare Horizontal Zebra Striped Cheetah Spotted cespitularia sp :)
$50/head :^:

No really...take it to a LFS and ask if they will take it in trade for store credit. Don't ask for a price. It's good to get in with your LFS.
Very good article BTW. I just had a nice long chat with Anthony Calfo this past Sat at our frag swap. Great guy.

 

[Gooseman]

pretty funny stuff there Capt ... but your right i should probably let them take care of it

I think you should frag it and sell it as LE Super Rare Horizontal Zebra Striped Cheetah Spotted cespitularia sp

 

[Bifferwine]

My LFS gives me $2/stalk of xenia. They generally give reefers 1/3 of the price they turn around and sell it for.

It doesn't sound like a lot, but it only takes two to three months for me to grow 50+ stalks in my tank.

 

[Gooseman]

WOW! sounds like you have a well oiled machine running in your house ... do you frag yours into individual stalks and then glue them to a rock or just deliver them unattached?

 

[reeffreak]

Anthelia resemble clove polyp in there growth pattern.Each polyp is generally a single coral while xenias growth are multiple polyps per trunk/stalk.They look really nice,similar look to the silver xenia but with shorter stalks.

 

[Bifferwine]

I don't glue them, I took a tupperware container and cut the center of the lid out, and glued mesh fabric onto it. I put rock rubble in the bottom of the container, cut the xenia off with a razor blade, and throw all the loose stalks in the container. I put the lid back on, so water and light get through, and within a week or two, all the stalks have attached to the rock rubble. Then I take the lid off, and let the xenia spread all over the rocks in the container. When it's time to take them to the LFS, they are already attached to dozens of individual rocks.

 

[Gooseman]

cool idea thanks i will try that

 

[NewBeeMommy1]

biff do you got any pic ....i also got one of the beta hang on the tank things and put some rock in the bottom and put loose shrooms in it and zoo's to attach has worked for me it allows for flow and light ....i thought it was a good thing...martha stewart)))i really works well and i dont have to put it on the floor of the tank either...

 

[yote]

Another easy way to frag em.Is to just take a small rock and set it againt the base of the coral.In a couple of weeks time,it will crawl itself up onto the rock and be ready to bag up and head to the LFS.

 

[Gooseman]

good idea as long as it grows in the direction you want it to ... otherwise you could be playing hopscotch with the rocks ... LOL

 

[yote]

Just make sure the rock is on the up hill side:D

 

[Bifferwine]

There are pictures of the setup somewhere in my build thread...

 

[Gooseman]

do you have a frag tank or is that actually in your DT

 

[Bifferwine]

That's in my DT. You should see it now. I have about 3 square feet of xenia on my rocks and glass.