PomPom Xenia Question - Dying?

[KMP]

Hey folks,

Bought a Pom Pom Xenia yesterday. It was not fully open, so I inquired and the lfs person told me she thought her husband had just moved it from their main tank to the one it was in. These are good folks so I bought it.

When I got home (30 min) the water in the bag was very merky. Not the case with the other 2 corals I bought.

I drip climitized for 1.5 hours and then put it in the tank. It has about 6 big heads and it was all droopy, but figured it needed time to perk up. About 5 hours later it appeared as though it was disintegrating. What do I mean by that; it had drooped so low it was resting on surrounding rocks and on the rocks looked like ashes (only way i know to describe it - but very accurate). I gave it a light splash with the turkey baster and all kinds of crap started floating around. However, after doing that, it looked better. I woke up this morning and it's looking horrible and again, looks like ash around it. Gave it a little splash with the turkey baster and now 2 of the heads are pretty much gone.

Now obviously, this has to come out. I plan on taking it back today. But was wondering if anyone had similar experiences and could tell me if this is just a very stressed coral that will come around or if it is in fact dying/dead.

Thanks.

[Gina]

I've had this happen before and have read post of other's with the same experience. It is dying or in terms in heard....melting.
Some people have said that theirs has come back at a later time. If there is even a slight piece left.

[KMP]

Melting is another good description. Amazing something can go down hill that quickly. It doesn't look remotely close to what it did yesterday.

Anybody know if that's from stress or was it just it's time? Wonder if I should just be patient...half of it although drooping has not melted.

[Gina]

Usually, once it starts it's too late.
I've heard many people say that this can be a very tricky coral.
For months on end it appears be be doing very well then all of a sudden....gone!
I personally wouldn't remove it yet. Unless, the LFS is willing to give you credit since you just bought it and was told it probably looked the way it did because of a move. Then, I would take it back and maybe try a piece that is already looking great and pulsing well.

[KMP]

Thanks for the wisdom. It has a very large foot to it which seems well in tact right now. It's just those heads that are gone. There was also a stow away crab in the middle of it that I found when taking it out of the bag. Hope he doesn't smother under there

[KMP]

Although I hated to see this go...it's gone. Melted away. 6 big heads one day, none the next. Only thing left an hour ago when I yanked it out was about 1/4 the foot it previously had.

Did a water change and siphoned everything out.

Good news, called the lfs and they are giving me store credit for the loss. Didn't make me drive the 30 miles to bring it back. If anyone is in Sacramento - The Coral Reef Shop - are absolutely great people. I've always liked that place and the owners, now I know they will also come through if there is a problem.

[kinghokus420]

thats good to know about shops in sacto! im just outside of chico about 1 1/2 hrs or so north. i go down to the city frequently. yourreef is also another great shop to deal with. BoomerD turned me on to them and i was very happy with what i got.

[KMP]

you are right. at this point i'd rank them:

Coral Reef Shop
Your Reef
O Street
Capital Aquarium

There's another up in Rocklin that has a pretty good selection. I forget the name. All five of these are a ritual days outing for me. See what they have going one way. Buy on the way back.

[Adnuces]

For what it's worth....I had a small pom pom xenia that melted into a pile of bubblegum goo in about 8 hours. I thought it was gone.....well low and behold from the goo grew new heads and now it is 3 bigger chunks and going strong....sooo don't scrape what's left of the foot it may just make a comeback

[Snelly40]

get rid of that crab too thats near it, crabs will nip anything and befroe i got rid of my crabs they would be around the xenia and i lost 2 stalks because of them. Crabs really are not helpful in the tank. Since i have removed mine, levels are better, corals are healthier and i see no real advantage to having them. Routine maintenance is the key

[nanoneptune]

Also, if you get a new one watch your temperature they are very sensitive to heat and temp changes.

[lcstorc]

I'm not sure about the difference, but I have a pulsing xenia. It is very sensitive. Loves my seahorse tank but nearly died agter 2 hrs in my main reef. I am assuming it is the water flow since the tanks share water so parameters and even temp and salinity are the same.
With that said it came back from nearly nothing. First one tiny stalk then another etc and now is almost back to where I started about 4 months ago which was 2 nice size colonies.
in short, wait it out. They may come back. Even after some time.

[fishinchick]

Usually when I'm buying xenia the first thing I do is squish the heads to make sure there are no hard lumps. The hard lumps can be parasite nudibranch, crabs that eat xenia or other problems.
I also suggest an iodine dip for the stuff. That often helps too.

Also when you get a new colony and it looks funky, check it out with the old flashlight trick. Sometimes you'll find out worlds of information looking in your tank after dark!

[KMP]

Well, I didn't wait it out. Took it out two days ago. There was nothing but a fraction of the foot left and I was more concerned with nitrate spikes.

I did discover something interesting. The first day when I was moving it I saw something small and purple kinda fall off and it looked as though it swam back to the inner part of the Xenia. When I took what remained out, I saw the purple thing agian...but two different ones. I did not take a picture, nor do I have any idea what they were. Both were about a centimeter in length, slender and purple. Didn't have any particular structure or shape other than what I described. Couldnt' see anything else other than little purple things. It will forever be a mystery...unless someone knows what I'm talking about.

[Snelly40]

wow, fishinchick might have hit it on the head then with the nudibranch idea