Hammer won’t open

rja · Oct 12, 2022

My Hammer won’t open meanwhile everything else is wide open. This guy really never did open. Been like this for months. The Torch right next to it is happier than a fat kid in a candy store.

I know everyone will want params but honestly I have not tested in months. Just weekly water changes. Only coral to give me any grief.

reeferguy3303 · Oct 12, 2022

Have you tried moving it to low flow/light

Lavey29 · Oct 12, 2022

Hammers need less flow then torches so they should be at different levels in the tank. Probably in to high of flow.

rja · Oct 12, 2022

Lavey29 said:
Hammers need less flow then torches so they should be at different levels in the tank. Probably in to high of flow.

It’s right at the same light level as a duncan that’s really happy but the flow in that spot is pretty much zero because it’s directly behind my output. It’s the section of the tank where my clowns sleep because they don’t move around

rja · Oct 12, 2022

reeferguy3303 said:
Have you tried moving it to low flow/light

Unfortunately it’s glued in place but I could probably break it free

educatedreefer · Oct 12, 2022

Do you still see the tissue band around the skeleton stalk and what are your parameters?
Usually if it’s receded to where you can see the white outskirts of its skeleton, it has little chance to recover unless you put it in low flow and low light. Usually it’s common with wall hammers where they retract their polyps so far in that their skeleton is exposed, but it’s usually a very slow death similar to STN.
Hammers also dislike laminar flow or direct flow as it’s known to cause tissue damage/recesssion as well, so maybe point your powerhead elsewhere if possible.
Try removing it, if possible, dip in Revive, place it on the sand bed, and dose amino acids to encourage nutrient absorption through its tissue.

rja · Oct 12, 2022

educatedreefer said:
Do you still see the tissue band around the skeleton stalk and what are your parameters?
Usually if it’s receded to where you can see the white outskirts of its skeleton, it has little chance to recover unless you put it in low flow and low light. Usually it’s common with wall hammers where they retract their polyps so far in that their skeleton is exposed, but it’s usually a very slow death similar to STN.
Hammers also dislike laminar flow or direct flow as it’s known to cause tissue damage/recesssion as well, so maybe point your powerhead elsewhere if possible.
Try removing it, if possible, dip in Revive, place it on the sand bed, and dose amino acids to encourage nutrient absorption through its tissue.

It kinda sounds like this one is a goner. Fortunately I got it for free from a tank in VERY bad shape. It opened fully a couple times but I’m fairly certain I can write this one off. I never had it secured completely until now. It would open too much and blow over. This is a relatively new spot for it but yeah.