Hammer coral splitting?

[Paul31733]

Hey everyone. I am a noob so not sure if I post this here or in the newbie section.

Anyways... I got this hammer coral 2 weeks ago and it looked great for 2 weeks. Last 2 days it has been looking retracted. Color still looks good.
I have read that a hammer coral can split and mine seems to becoming to smaller circles.
I just want to know if you guys think this is the case or is this a sign that I should move my coral to another location.
I have another hammer coral on the other side of my tank which looks perfect.

I did have a problem recently with my ato putting in too much fresh water, I do understand it could be related to this. I just hope not.

Thanks.
Paul.

 

[Paul31733]

Here is my other hammer...just incase it helps.. Plus everybody likes pictures!!

 

[Paul31733]

Now I see some clear looking bulge from the center of the right side.

 

[MightyMO]

Looks like it has 2 heads... Probably split as a defense mechanism for the ato...

 

[Paul31733]

Looks like it has 2 heads... Probably split as a defense mechanism for the ato...

Thank you for the reply. Is there anything I can do for it now? Or just keep my tank stable and pray to the coral gods!?

 

[wphan]

Looks like it’s splitting. Let me be as long as it’s happy it will grow.

 

[MightyMO]

Yeah, keep your parameters stable and fix that ato... my very first ato is showing up tommorow via ups... yay

 

[MightyMO]

I got a big hammer coral... it has about 5 heads now... had 3 when I first got it...

 

[Paul31733]

Yeah, keep your parameters stable and fix that ato... my very first ato is showing up tommorow via ups... yay

So just so you know what can happen with an ato. Mine did not actually mess up... More like I did. I posted a thread on it here to warn others.

I replaced my return pump at the same time and plugged them into a power bar... When I turned on my power bar the return pump lowered my sump level and the ato did it's job and pumped in a bunch of freshwater. Which in turn lowered all of my parameters at one shot....
I am just letting you know so you can avoid this!!!

Also lets see a picture of that hammer!!

 

[SkinnyMcGinny]

That hammer looks like its splitting. FYI, the can be VERY durable. I have a colony that's gone through tank moves, filthy water, clean water, and flat out mistreatment, just keeps growing. It's gotten to the size of a big watermelon with 100-plus heads, I've probably given away 100 heads... great coral, IMHO

 

[MightyMO]

So just so you know what can happen with an ato. Mine did not actually mess up... More like I did. I posted a thread on it here to warn others.

I replaced my return pump at the same time and plugged them into a power bar... When I turned on my power bar the return pump lowered my sump level and the ato did it's job and pumped in a bunch of freshwater. Which in turn lowered all of my parameters at one shot....
I am just letting you know so you can avoid this!!!

Also lets see a picture of that hammer!!

Thank You for the helpful advice! I'll just leave my return pump on and dial in the sensors when I hook it up... Let me look for a pic, my lights are off at the moment... Lighting schedule.

 

[Paul31733]

Thank You for the helpful advice! I'll just leave my return pump on and dial in the sensors when I hook it up... Let me look for a pic, my lights are off at the moment... Lighting schedule.

Thats a very nice coral! Which type of hammer is this?

 

[Picasso Clown]

Definitely a split! Only branching hammers do that btw, wall hammers just extend from the edges. Here’s some pics of mine!

 

[Paul31733]

Definitely a split! Only branching hammers do that btw, wall hammers just extend from the edges. Here’s some pics of mine!

Thanks for the info. This was actually a free coral my lfs gave me when I ordered some other corals. They did not tell me what it is.(ordered online) At least now i know it is a branching hammer.
I believe it is a green branching hammer coral..

 

[Picasso Clown]

Thanks for the info. This was actually a free coral my lfs gave me when I ordered some other corals. They did not tell me what it is.(ordered online) At least now i know it is a branching hammer.
I believe it is a green branching hammer coral..

Yeah, as you can see my highlighter toxic splatter and my purple/blue hammer are both quite large and have never split, this is because they are wall hammers and will continue to grow longer. These types are good for filling longer, shorter spaces. Branching hammers (the rest of them) will continue to split and grow upwards/in a spherical shape (like that guy up there that has that 100+ heads piece) these are good for filling more vertical spaces or spaces where you’d like a nice sphere of movement. Simply wait for the heads to retract and cut a branch out of the skeleton if it becomes spherical. You can shove this branch in a hole to create a taller piece of hammer .

 

[MightyMO]

Thats a very nice coral! Which type of hammer is this?

I'm not sure... I think it's a neon green splatter hammer... They got so many different names for these things... lol

 

[MightyMO]

Definitely a split! Only branching hammers do that btw, wall hammers just extend from the edges. Here’s some pics of mine!

I like the purple..

 

[Picasso Clown]

I like the purple..

I love it too, just got it last week. Indo shipment, I got this one for $80

 

[SkinnyMcGinny]

Here's my hammer colony, recently pruned. I'd guess 70 heads in there. The colony to the upper left of it is some frog spawn, which plays nice with the hammer. The colony on the lower left is a pagoda cup, which the hammer likes to sting. This has been my most durable coral; wild Kh swings, dirty water, zero nutrients, wierd lighting, moving tanks... This baby has thrived thought them all.

 

[Paul31733]

Amazing. I hope i will see mine reach that stage!
My hammer is looking much better today!!