Pom Pom xenia

[vincent6396]

How come they keep melting or wilting away on me, got first frag in feb and died in april. Then bought another frag 2 weeks ago and doing same thing again now,had them on sand bed first time then this time had it halfway up on rock, all water parameters are in check with weekly 10% water change. The light is a Nova Extreme Pro T5 fixture. TIA, Vincent.

 

[panmanmatt]

What is your PH and how much does it fluctuate? Xenia likes a stable PH of 8.1-8.2 anything less and it will usually melt away.

Also some tanks just can't support xenia for some reason. Out of the 13 tanks I have all but 3 will support.

 

[vincent6396]

Forgot to mention I have the reg or normal xenia and it's growing like weed. I do all the test in evening, do I need to check ph in morning and evening?

 

[panmanmatt]

Checking it in the morning and evening will tell you how much it varies. Most folks experience a drop in PH when the lights go out. Depending on how well your water is buffered will depend on how big of a swing you will see.

The pink pom-pom seems to be more sensitive to swings. They also tend to like a bit of nitrates in the water.

 

[vincent6396]

Thanks Matt, guess I can't keep em.

 

[panmanmatt]

Not a problem.

Some folks are just blessed with not being able to keep it. I'd just take what you can right now and see how the other xenia does for you long term. Maybe one day down the line you'll be able to keep the pom-pom too.