Waving Hand Xenia
Waving weeds
I know very little about these guys. Some people say they are VERY hard to grow, and should only be taken in by experienced reefers. Other say they are very hardy, and grow like weeds. Mine...they're taking the later route. I also have to vote for Hardy, as the story I'm about to share backs that up (and makes me look pretty stupid in the process).
So I get these gusy home, and I put them in a bucket, and start the aclimation drip (drip water from the main display tank into the bucket for 30-45 minutes to allow the creature to aclimate to changes in salinity/pH/temp/etc). While the drip's going on, I do some rearranging in the tank, in preparation for his new home. The tank's pretty big, so I need to stand on a chair to really get deep in the tank. Well, I go to step down off the chair I'm on (any see this coming? Cause I didn't), and **CRACK**...I step RIGHT into the bucket, and ON the Xenia! (pause to allow time for any respect you had for me to fade away).
Well, damage was minimal, considering what could have happened. But as you'll see in the pictures to come, instead of one Xenia grouping, I now have two. And through some miracle, I didn't really squish any with my foot, so all are doing well. But enough about MY stupidity...let's get back to the Xenia.
What I have read on these creatures, says that they feed off of nutrients in the water much like Macro-Algae does. Which would lead me to believe, pristine water conditions are actually bad for it. Well, if it's doing good in my tank, than I must not have perfect water quality. Good for the Xenia...but I hope it doesn't get used to it. Because as much as I like these guys, my goal is still to have very good water quality. We'll see.
Not much in the color department, and they don't like a lot of flow so you can't really get them blowing around like the Green Star Polyp, but they are still neat. And if they're eating extra waste nutrients in the water, that's a help!
I actually had them in a fairly high flow area for a day or two, and they were doing HORRIBLY. A few were being ripped off the main rock, and suddently floating around the tank. I corrected this immediately, and now it is doing VERY well. With the lessened flow, I now see where they get their name. They don't blow all around, but instead...they just jiggle back and forth (like a hand waving).
Added to the tank on April 10th, from the Pet Loft, Mt Airy, MD. Age N/A (New polyps growing like weeds)
The main rock and grouping of Xenia. I think they may be the best picture I've taken (as far as being true to actually standing in front of my tank, looking at it). This is really what they look like. Color/texture/etc.
This is the part that broke off. I've since moved it to the rock with the Zoo's and the Giant Feather Duster Worm. It appears to REALLY like it there, as it's growing new hands already.
A picture of the Xenia, and the Sabae Anemone.
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Last updated 5/18/05