Hammer Coral Dying :( I think?

[cleanbuttpotatoe]

Hi guys,

Yesterday night I noticed that my hammer had shrunken (which is maybe normal) and had its mouth wide open. I have had him for a month and never fed him but about a week ago, I got reef roids. I feed him this morning and he had a mucus reaction with the reef roads which from what I read, he doesn't want them :/ but later on he actually ate them. I think I am starting to see skeleton and I really don't want to lose him I check on him everyday and it all happened so fast.

My water parameters are:

ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
Ph: 8.1
Nitrate: less than 10 but I will do a water change today (frankly I haven't done it so often an I am ashamed)

This is a 35 gallon tank, I have a fluvial canister, hydra 32 lights and two movement pumps.

This is my first saltwater tank so I am still learning. I will take any advice.

 

[Living Reef Orlando]

The good thing is I do see a good amount of flesh down the stalk which is a good sign of health thus far, but it could still definitely be stressed. I also see a few Vermitid snails so I suggest grabbing some tweezers and carefully popping them off as it could be irritating the coral. I can't tell what the flow situation is like, but I recommend moving it into a lower flow area. Good luck fellow reefer!

 

[Goaway]

My hammers act like that when I try to feed them. So, I stopped. Haven't fed them in months and they are my fastest growers.
I don't know much about yours. If you have information on where you bought it, might help to know what lights it had over it.
And snip off those vermitid snails like LRO said.

One of my hammers took 3 months to acclimate to my lights. LFS had it under extremely bad led lighting. So there's a lot to take in with hammers from one place to another.

 

[cleanbuttpotatoe]

The good thing is I do see a good amount of flesh down the stalk which is a good sign of health thus far, but it could still definitely be stressed. I also see a few Vermitid snails so I suggest grabbing some tweezers and carefully popping them off as it could be irritating the coral. I can't tell what the flow situation is like, but I recommend moving it into a lower flow area. Good luck fellow reefer!

Thank you! how should I remove the verimitid snails? Can I do it with scissors? Sorry for my ignorance, I have never done it before.

 

[cleanbuttpotatoe]

My hammers act like that when I try to feed them. So, I stopped. Haven't fed them in months and they are my fastest growers.
I don't know much about yours. If you have information on where you bought it, might help to know what lights it had over it.
And snip off those vermitid snails like LRO said.

One of my hammers took 3 months to acclimate to my lights. LFS had it under extremely bad led lighting. So there's a lot to take in with hammers from one place to another.

Thats a good point I never thought of that. Do you see any skeleton? I am scared it is passing out I may be paranoid but just trying to protect it.

 

[Goaway]

Thats a good point I never thought of that. Do you see any skeleton? I am scared it is passing out I may be paranoid but just trying to protect it.

Yes, theres some miner tissue recession.
Test alk ,calcium, salinity, nitrates, magnesium and phosphates if you can. Yes there are more tests I didn't list. But I don't know what you have on hand, or can get.

 

[Living Reef Orlando]

Thank you! how should I remove the verimitid snails? Can I do it with scissors? Sorry for my ignorance, I have never done it before.

You can use some bone cutters to pull them off carefully. Just make sure you remove the base of the snail completely.

 

[cleanbuttpotatoe]

You can use some bone cutters to pull them off carefully. Just make sure you remove the base of the snail completely.

Thank you, I just took out the snails and fingers crossed it gets better. I noticed my nitrates were a bit high so I’m doing a water change right now as well just in case. Do you recommend anything else?

 

[cleanbuttpotatoe]

Yes, theres some miner tissue recession.
Test alk ,calcium, salinity, nitrates, magnesium and phosphates if you can. Yes there are more tests I didn't list. But I don't know what you have on hand, or can get.

I do mot have most of those other than salinity but I’m ordering some through Amazon tonight. I’m doing a water change right now since nitrates were a bit high and I took out all the snails. Thank you. I hope it gets better. I did notice it puked the food while I took out the snail so should I do anything else?

 

[Living Reef Orlando]

Looks like it should be good to go. Monitor the situation and let us know how it goes!

 

[Goaway]

Just leave it alone. Once you can run tests, you can go from there. Nitrates don't even look high. I'd say about 10ppm? Which is idea for growth.

 

[Goaway]

Also, how is water flow? Does it look like water is pulling at the polyps? Or, is there a gentle swaying?

Edit: also where the tissue receded, may have mostly been the vermitid snails causing irritation as LRO pointed out.
I would leave it alone and see how it reacts to the removal.

 

[cleanbuttpotatoe]

Also, how is water flow? Does it look like water is pulling at the polyps? Or, is there a gentle swaying?

Edit: also where the tissue receded, may have mostly been the vermitid snails causing irritation as LRO pointed out.
I would leave it alone and see how it reacts to the removal.

He is actually looking worse (( He had mucus and some of his colour fell with it. I am not sure how to help him anymore

 

[Goaway]

Hopefully just agitated. take a pic with white light. I can't see whats going on with the polyps.

 

[cleanbuttpotatoe]

I am so sorry, I tried to take better ones. I do not have the phone that controls the light at the moment but here is some other pic. I also noticed my other corals are getting affected and I want to drop on the floor and cry. I will take any advise

 

[Goaway]

Without a white light, I can't make out if there's brown jelly. . 1st and 3rd pictures, looks like brown jelly is starting. I hope I'm wrong.
I can't tell with pic 2.

 

[cleanbuttpotatoe]

Without a white light, I can't make out if there's brown jelly. . 1st and 3rd pictures, looks like brown jelly is starting. I hope I'm wrong.
I can't tell with pic 2.

Here are in white light. The first looks like mucus so fingers crossed it'll go away. Hammer looks pretty wrecked third is basically the same colour we bought him. I hope the last one makes it too...

 

[Goaway]

I'm happy to say. Hammer looks angry, but not infected. Now for the first picture. He needs to be dipped. I don't know if you have any iodine on hand. But
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/how-to-dip-with-iodine.59085/

look into doing an iodine dip. First guy needs a bath. Bad

I don't like messing with corals once they have been bothered. But if someone with more experience chimes in to say dip them all. You should.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hammer can be touchy and there are a few basics to keeping them happy. Placement is one whereas I keep them off the sandbed and at lower third of tank. Like most other coral species, Euphyllia requires Stable tank conditions, and is intolerant to major swings in water quality, and is sensitive to almost any level of copper in the water. Since they are a large polyp stony coral, calcium and alkalinity are two very important water parameters that will affect the growth of your coral. This coral will start to die off if the calcium levels are too low. A calcium level of about 400 ppm is just right.
This coral species isn’t terribly picky when it comes to the proper placement in your tank. The trick would really be just to avoid the extremes. Avoid extremely bright locations or areas of very high current, and avoid areas that are too dark or with currents that are too low. Fast currents risk damaging the soft, fleshy polyps (and getting an infection). Bright lights will cause bleaching. Insufficient lighting will cause the poor coral to wither away and starve to death.
Hammer corals only require a moderate amount of light for photosynthesis and can grow well in the intermediate regions of your tank. Just about any reef LED lighting should be sufficient for most tanks. Reduce white light intensity and get it off the sand bed which sand can irritate it.
The polyps should sway in the current, but not sustain so much pressure they are constantly bent over their skeleton. Too much flow will tear the polyps (worst case) and cause the polyps do not extend in the first place (best case). So, don’t give them too much flow.
The hammer coral is considered to be an aggressive coral species that will attack its neighbors with sweeper tentacles. These are stinging nematocysts (similar to the sting of an anemone) on the end of a specialized polyp that can extend several inches away from the body of the coral. The sweeper tentacles pack a punch and will chemically burn any neighboring corals.
Hammer corals are more subdued eaters who would benefit from the occasional feeding of a meaty marine food like mysis and brine shrimp.

 

[cleanbuttpotatoe]

I'm happy to say. Hammer looks angry, but not infected. Now for the first picture. He needs to be dipped. I don't know if you have any iodine on hand. But
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/how-to-dip-with-iodine.59085/

look into doing an iodine dip. First guy needs a bath. Bad

I don't like messing with corals once they have been bothered. But if someone with more experience chimes in to say dip them all. You should.

I’m sorry for the late reply. one of my wave makers broke down today out of all days ha. Corals are looking a bit better. I will update tomorrow as well but so far here are some pics. Idk what I would’ve done without your help. Truly thank you b