| Pulsating Xenid | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Cnidaria |
| Class: | Anthozoa |
| Subclass: | Octocorallia |
| Order: | Alcyonacea |
| Suborder: | Alcyoniina |
| Family: | Xeniidae |
| Genus: | Heteroxenia |
| Species: | H. fuscescens |
| Binomial name | |
| Heteroxenia fuscescens (Ehrenberg, 1834)[1] |
|
The Pulsating xenid (Heteroxenia fuscescens) is a soft coral with large, feathery pinnate tentacles forming a clump up to 60 centimetres (24 in) across. Its polyp stalks are approx 5 centimetres (2.0 in) long, pulsating rhythmically around 40 times/ minute although scientists don't know why. Some theories include creating a current, assisting feeding, respiration and helping to dispose of waste and detritus.
It contains zooxanthellae.[2]
It lives on hard bottoms of lagoons and bays, and slopes with little current, and occurs from the Red Sea to the Indian ocean.
These corals are prized in the aquarium hobby for the majestic "pumping" and the ease of reproduction; however they do tend to grow like weeds in the right environment and can quickly cover a tank. In some captive environments they may stop pulsing for long periods of time with no other signs of stress and suddenly start pulsing again later on as if there was never a problem. This is probably due to instability in water conditions. Some hobbyists claim that the addition of iodide may help this species but there is only circumstantial evidence to suggest that. [3]
Heteroxenia are very closely related to other xenia species and take an expert eye to identify. Heteroxenia grow smaller tentacles between the larger tentacles in mature specimen.