Sick Xenia Tree

Question
I have a xenia tree (I think that's what it is) that has looked beautiful for over a year. 3 days ago I went in for my daily inspection of the tank and found it sort of shriveled up. I've never seen it like that before. I was afraid my shrimp has been climbing on it too much, so I moved it away from that shrimp. (The shrimp never leaves his corner.) Today, 3 days later, it looks a little better but the stem looks damaged (like it has become scar tissue on one side), and it is still sagging a bit. I can send you pictures if need be. However, the branches look normal today. I'm still worried about it, though.

Answer
Hi Jill. Once established in a tank xenia can be very hardy. It can sometimes overgrow your tank to the point of it becoming a nuisance. If the polyps are fully extended and are pulsing then I wouldn't worry too much about it. I grow and propagate xenia to sell to retailers in my area and I can tell you that I chop them up pretty bad before I attach them to new rocks. They almost always come back nicely within two weeks. Keep a close eye on the damaged area and if there is any change for the worse(like it starts to look cheesy) let me know. Xenia often fail to thrive if they are constantly being tread upon by other inhabitants of your tank. Moving it was the right way to go. It should bounce back quickly and make a full recovery. Be forewarned however, xenia will not live forever! They will always at some point go through an entire colony collapse. It will happen eventually and there is no way of preventing it. This event happens naturally in the ocean to prevent the entire reef from being taken over by xenia due to its hardiness and extremely quick growing nature. When this event happens in your aquarium it will pollute your tank if not taken care of immediately. Don't be alarmed either it will happen and it won't be anything you did that will cause it. So far I have had mine for two years and no collapse but I am slowly getting rid of it and giving it away to friends and selling it so I won't have so much when it does happen. If your xenia starts to take off in your tank you will want to do the same and keep only a small amount of it at any given time.