Weird acting Xenia

My pulsing Xenia, as far as I can tell, is doing really well. I'm still thinking about fragging it. But it goes through weird bouts of...emotion? Sometimes one stalk will be cramped up, and the other 8 stalks will be out and about. Or like right now, about half the stalks are closed and the other half are waving about like it ain't no thang! For the most part they are all wavin' their hands in the air like they just don't care! But this happens atleast once a day. Whats up with that? Has anyone else had experience with this? Is that just what they do? Or is something else at work here?

 

Yes this happens, from what i can tell, to all xenia. I have three species and they all go thought mood swings nothing to worry about unless they start to melt.

 

Ive noticed this reaction with my colonies closest to the light. they seem to shut down late every aftenoon about and houror 2 before lights out and then come back out until the light goes off. xenia will be xenia and can act strangly any time of the day ornight, but ive noticed it happensregularly when they are in stronger lighting. Bruce said it right. as long as they dontturn to mush they will befine.

 

I've had two 'mush' on me...can't tell why, probably chemical warfare in my small tank... they both started behaving like you describe before the meltdown. You may want to check that it's not too close to other corals. Keep good water flow on it.

 

Well since I posted this the Xenia has been moved closer to the top (mostly to keep it out of my roaming anemones' harm). The flow is also much stonger there and they seldom close up at all anymore. In face I think I have noticed some growth! It has been years since I kept corals, other then my mushrooms which live through EVERYTHING (THE hardiest corals, PERIOD, in my opinion). I was pretty unsuccessful before, but thats because my light SUCKED and I was nieve. Anyways, they are fine now, I just get anxious when it looks like things aren't doing well.

 

The Xenia polyps will close up also if something touches them like a snail or hermit crossing over them and won't open up for awhile.