hammer coral dying?

DougiesREEF

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So my hammer coral has been struggling lately. I tried moving it and still it hasn't opened up in weeks. Tank parameters all in line.
Nitrates -10 ppm
Salinity 1.026
ALK- 8.4 DKH
MG- 1320
Calcium- 450
P04 - 0.02
I have no idea what to do. It has been retracted for so long I feel like it is going to die. Any suggestions? I tried lowering the light as well and still no help. It is extremely retracted all of the time. Can someone please give any help. Thank you.
 
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DougiesREEF

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1903884A-A1E5-4214-983C-A1F5CF907B4C.jpeg

I added it a while ago and for a month it was doing great it even started to split. Then all of a sudden this happened and I’m clueless. This hobby is much tougher than I thought
 

jassermd

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Your PO4 is quite low... did that happen suddenly or has it been like that for a while?
Also, Mg is a bit low... doubt that's the issue though.
What do you consider a "while ago"?
IME, they don't like being moved, prefer lower light, and low-moderate flow. I've also discoveed they prefer nutrient rich water... Stable parameters are key as well as nitrates around 10 and phosphates around 0.1.
They are quite finicky when it comes to flow and lighting...
 
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DougiesREEF

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I took it at around 5 pm. And yeah I’m not sure why my phosphates are so low but I don’t want to move it again to stress it more
 

vetteguy53081

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Not dead but very unhappy. What is age of tank ?
It takes a moderate level of skill to care for Hammer corals in a saltwater 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.
 
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DougiesREEF

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I would feed it brine shrimp and my tank is only 4 months old. I have a spot in my tank that doesn’t get much light or flow at all do you think I should move it now or wait some time I moved it about a week ago.
 

James_O

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Is it still like this? It’s normal for hammers to shrink up at night, so that may be what it is.

It is not normal however, to see that much of the skeleton in the center.
 

Jenbob

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I have no clue chemistry is on point I don’t know my clown would get into the hammer occasionally this is what it normally looks like
 

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