AboutJennifer Schanely Expertise I have worked for sixteen years in a pet store where I am the fishroom manager. I can answer most questions pertaining to saltwater fish and coral care, feeding and behavior. I am knowledgeable in setting up and maintaining reef and fish only tanks and can usually identify creatures that come off of live rock. I am experienced on culturing live copepods for feeding of some invertebrates and know how to set up a culture. I am only slightly knowledgeable on disease treatment with prevention being my specialty. My approach to the marine tank is that of simplicity. Keeping a marine environment is easy and I encourage anyone intersted in this hobby to give it a try!
Experience Besides owning various types of tanks,I have worked as a fishroom manager in a pet store for the past sixteen years. I answer questions to many fish related problems on a daily basis. At our store we have many fresh water tanks, salt fish tanks, corals, and other invertabrates. I also know alot about different products on the market and what works and what doesn't.
Education/Credentials I think sixteen years experience is far more education than any school could have taught me.
I saw your reply to a SOFT CORAL question. I actually have a question about XENIA :)
I'm planning on adding a stalk of POM POM xenia to my tank. It's a 25g tank it's about 18'' tall, there are areas in my tank that are about 8 inches from the light.
My question is I read you recommended a 2x65W setup-however, I currently have the 1x65 from Corallife... my tank has been a fish only tank up until now! I decided to keep one and only one coral and that'd be the POM POM XEnia--I guess I just have a ting for them!! :)
My parents won't condone me to get another lamp so my only hope is that the Xenia will be okay under the 65W :)
Please let me know, thanks so much.
Answer Hi Dennis. Ahhh! You picked my favorite topic! Xenia are my favorite corals. I love the pulsing action its almost hypnotic. Anyway for your question. You may not have enough lighting for these corals. They can withstand moderate lighting but what you have would be more closely to the low side. Xenia get most of their nutrition from their zooxanthellae( form of algae that lives in their tissues). They need a good amount of light to keep this algae healthy. If you can get them, and place them as close to the light source as possible you may be okay however I don't want to say for sure. Xenia are also a little finicky. In some systems they thrive even if conditions are less then perfect and in other tanks they fail to thrive even if they water parameters are all in good order. They do not transport well or acclimate quickly. Tank grown specimens are easy to find for sale and are going to be a lot more tolerant of lighting conditions and water quality. Try to find a source of these. Ones taken straight from the ocean very rarely will do well in a tank environment.
