Hammer coral: splitting or gaping mouth?

[logibear]

I’ve had this hammer coral for probably a year in the exact same spot. It has done great. The area this is happening is where it had a large bubble months ago but then that receded. Just in the last few days I’ve noticed an area where there aren’t really polyps but tissue and today it looks like this. I can’t tell if it is just the coral splitting apart or if the polyps receded and it is a gaping mouth.

 

[logibear]

Bump

 

[DSC reef]

Sometimes they do this while expelling waste, ever any brown stands that protrude from the mouth?

 

[logibear]

Sometimes they do this while expelling waste, ever any brown stands that protrude from the mouth?

Not that I’ve seen. I’ve also never seen it do anything like this in the last year.

 

[logibear]

Update for anyone interested. Thought things were not looking great until just today it seems to have fully finished splitting I guess

 

[Asserted]

Update for anyone interested. Thought things were not looking great until just today it seems to have fully finished splitting I guess

Looks awesome after the split! Love the color too!

 

[logibear]

Looks awesome after the split! Love the color too!

Thank you! Still seems to be doing pretty well

 

[BryanM]

Update for anyone interested. Thought things were not looking great until just today it seems to have fully finished splitting I guess

Looks great now!

I can't keep flesh on a candy cane to save my life... rest of tank looks great. That candy cane is huge!

 

[EnterName]

Sometimes they do this while expelling waste, ever any brown stands that protrude from the mouth?

Not that I’ve seen. I’ve also never seen it do anything like this in the last year.

Do you feed them?

If you aren't, that might explain both "issues". Without feeding they won't need to expell any leftovers that can't be digested and without feeding they might have a reason for looking a bit unhappy.

I have recently commented on a thread regarding a similar issue that feeding might be more important than many people might think: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/aussie-torch-care-tips.1167909/post-14492061

Edit: Didn't see how old the thread was. I'm glad it worked out!

 

[logibear]

Looks great now!

I can't keep flesh on a candy cane to save my life... rest of tank looks great. That candy cane is huge!

Yeah it is pretty big now crazy to think this was just a little over a year ago

 

[Reef Jedi]

Update for anyone interested. Thought things were not looking great until just today it seems to have fully finished splitting I guess

Super cool!

 

[DSC reef]

Do you feed them?

If you aren't, that might explain both "issues". Without feeding they won't need to expell any leftovers that can't be digested and without feeding they might have a reason for looking a bit unhappy.

I have recently commented on a thread regarding a similar issue that feeding might be more important than many people might think: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/aussie-torch-care-tips.1167909/post-14492061

Edit: Didn't see how old the thread was. I'm glad it worked out!

In my experience since they are photosynthetic they can still expel waste even without direct feeding.

 

[EnterName]

Do you feed them?

If you aren't, that might explain both "issues". Without feeding they won't need to expell any leftovers that can't be digested and without feeding they might have a reason for looking a bit unhappy.

I have recently commented on a thread regarding a similar issue that feeding might be more important than many people might think: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/aussie-torch-care-tips.1167909/post-14492061

Edit: Didn't see how old the thread was. I'm glad it worked out!

In my experience since they are photosynthetic they can still expel waste even without direct feeding.

The waste they expel consists of zooxanthellae they start digesting and stuff they managed to catch regardless of being fed or not. Photosynthesis does not create organic matter from thin air, so it won't create the waste you see on its own. Something has to grow and be digested first and that's unfortunately mostly useful zooxanthellae if residual food sources are scarce. This doesn't have to become an issue, if the zooxanthellae reproduction rate is high enough, but feeding grants safety that the coral isn't slowly sacrificing its zooxanthellae over time.

 

[DSC reef]

The waste they expel consists of zooxanthellae they start digesting and stuff they managed to catch regardless of being fed or not. Photosynthesis does not create organic matter from thin air, so it won't create the waste you see on its own. Something has to grow and be digested first and that's unfortunately mostly useful zooxanthellae if residual food sources are scarce. This doesn't have to become an issue, if the zooxanthellae reproduction rate is high enough, but feeding grants safety that the coral isn't slowly sacrificing its zooxanthellae over time.

We can agree to disagree, waste is waste from digesting and it will expell it. Also, unless you're keeping coral in a tank without fish I dont see how the coral won't pick up some other organic matter. Anyway, glad it worked out OP, coral looks great

 

[EnterName]

We can agree to disagree, waste is waste from digesting and it will expell it. Also, unless you're keeping coral in a tank without fish I dont see how the coral won't pick up some other organic matter. Anyway, glad it worked out OP, coral looks great

It certainly will pick up organic matter and get some food. I have kept corals in a very nutrient limited tank and only very few fish for long without feeding, but as we might not be able to have optimal flow throughout the tank to offer each coral enough for its needs, I think feeding offers a bit of safety. If it works without, perfect, no need to add more detritus to the system, but if growth stalls, or corals appear unhappy for no apparent reason, it might be worth a try.

It wasn't my intention to talk in absolutes, so I'm not claiming you absolutely have to feed each coral.