Hammer Bailout

Seafeather · 2026-09-30T14:17:14-0400

Hey there. Anyone ever have a hammer just bail out for absolutely no reason whatsoever?
My whole tank is doing completely fine. I thought the hammer was fine too. Yesterday it was open and happy like usual. The only thing i can say thats different is I moved the powerhead to give it a bit more direct flow, but it wasnt even direct. It was very passive movement.

No signs of disease, no unhappy extended retraction. Just...bailed.

Privateye · 2026-09-30T14:33:08-0400

Yeah I've had a couple of bailouts over the years. The first one drifted somewhere behind the rocks and I never found it. I nestled the second one between a rock and the side of the tank. It eventually grew a skeleton and did just fine. A bailout doesn't necessarily mean it's lost.

Seafeather · 2026-09-30T14:38:32-0400

Privateye said:
Yeah I've had a couple of bailouts over the years. The first one drifted somewhere behind the rocks and I never found it. I nestled the second one between a rock and the side of the tank. It eventually grew a skeleton and did just fine. A bailout doesn't necessarily mean it's lost.

Thats good to know. I put it back in the tank in the cup as a safe space for it. Removed the skeleton though.

unchainedcoot · 2026-09-30T15:28:21-0400

For my two cents: something was going on with it for a while. There is no white on that skeleton at the base of the head, which to me indicates the flesh band was receded. From what I’ve seen on my hammers, the flesh band usually goes down the skeleton a bit and keeps some white as it grows