From ReefPedia

[edit] Heteroxenia Difficulty: easy-medium Poisonous: no Light: medium-high Aggression: peaceful Hardiness: very-medium Growth Rate: very fast Availability: common

pic coming soon

Introduction

Heteroxenia sp. is a hardy coral for aquarists new to the reef keeping hobby. The coral will constantly need to be fragged as it is one of the fastest growing corals known to the hobby and may shadow other corals. Many feel there is a difference in health when iodine is supplemented. Some aquarists have said that a colony that thrives for years may crash for no apparent reason. It is a favorite amongst aquarists because of its distinct pulsing movements. Scientists do not know what the pulsing does, but two theories are that they are used for feed ing and the other is that it is used for gas exchange.

Common Names

Heteroxenia Coral or Pulse Coral

Scientific Names

Heteroxenia sp.

Hardiness

Easy-Medium

Flow

Medium

Lighting

Medium-High

Placement

Varies, depending on your tank setup

Feeding

The Heteroxenia does not require supplemental feedings as it feeds off of the zooxanthelle living in its polyps although it would benefit from weekly feedings of a high grade liquid invertebrate food or live phytoplankton. It is said to thrive in aquariums where the water is not overly skimmed as it also feeds off of the organic nutrients in the water. It will also benefit from supplements of iodine and trace elements.

Propagation

Heteroxenia sp. is very easy to propagate. All that is needed is a pair of sharp scissors, a piece of rock or a frag plug, bridal mesh with holes no bigger than this o, a bag of medium rubberbands, a plastic constainer (never cleaned with soap), tank water, and vinyl gloves.

Procedure:

1. gather all materials 2. prepare all materials in a spot close to the tank 3. fill the plastic container with tank water 4. cut the bridal mesh to fit all the way around the frag plug or rock with about 2 inches extra on the bottom for the rubberband to be tied around 5. put on vinyl gloves 6. remove the mother colony from the tank 7. place the mother colony in the plastic container of tank water 8. swish the heteroxenia around to make its polyps close 9. place the mother colony on a clean surface 10. with the scissors, cut pieces of your prefered size from the base in quick slices 11. place the mother colony and cuttings into the container of tank water and swish around for ten seconds. 12. place the mother colony back in the tank 13. place each cutting on its own rock 14. place the bridal mesh (moderately tight) over the cutting and bring the excess on the bottom 15. take one or two rubberbands and wrap them around the mesh on the bottom 16. place the cuttings in the container of tank water 17. swish the cuttings around for anout ten seconds. 18. place the cuttings in the display tank or frag tank. 19. wait 5 days 20. on the fifth day remove the bridal mesh 21. you now have a heteroxenia frag

Predators

This coral has no known defense system against predators. Some common predators include large crabs, other corals, angelfish, large predatory starfish, and most non-reef safe animals.