Hammers not fully extending

jtlmnop

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Hello,

I have two hammers that seem to be shrinking in a bit. One green tip that has two heads where one seems to be extending nicely, but down away from the lights, while the other seems like the tips are smaller than they should be. The purple tip is a single head and the center seems bunched up while the peripheral tentacles seems to be extending normal.

both have been in my tank for 2-3 months. The purple was fully extending while I was acclimating it, but changed once I moved it. The green tip has always looked a bit shrunken.

Could this be too much light? I don’t have a PAR meter. I’m running one Aquamai 100 led at 75% blue and about 10% white over a Nuvo AIO 50 lagoon.

I thought something be bothering them, so I’ve dipped in Coral RX, but didn’t seem to change the way they look.

tank parameters.
Cal: 440
Alk: 8.2
Mag: 1380
PH: 8.0
Sal: 1.025
Nitrate: 15

Pics under whites.

Any thoughts?

B6BE9210-C20E-4B28-8253-622AFA1360AA.jpeg DF443C0B-B455-4BA6-BFB3-3B245DEE8D09.jpeg
 

Spieg

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Hard to say with any certainty, but if water parameters are good (an ICP test for trace elements might be worth while), I'd look at lighting and water flow. Hammers generally do best in moderate light (~150 PAR) with medium random flow (just enough to move the tentacles a little).
 

vetteguy53081

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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.
 

Paul 569

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Hello,

I have two hammers that seem to be shrinking in a bit. One green tip that has two heads where one seems to be extending nicely, but down away from the lights, while the other seems like the tips are smaller than they should be. The purple tip is a single head and the center seems bunched up while the peripheral tentacles seems to be extending normal.

both have been in my tank for 2-3 months. The purple was fully extending while I was acclimating it, but changed once I moved it. The green tip has always looked a bit shrunken.

Could this be too much light? I don’t have a PAR meter. I’m running one Aquamai 100 led at 75% blue and about 10% white over a Nuvo AIO 50 lagoon.

I thought something be bothering them, so I’ve dipped in Coral RX, but didn’t seem to change the way they look.

tank parameters.
Cal: 440
Alk: 8.2
Mag: 1380
PH: 8.0
Sal: 1.025
Nitrate: 15

Pics under whites.

Any thoughts?

B6BE9210-C20E-4B28-8253-622AFA1360AA.jpeg DF443C0B-B455-4BA6-BFB3-3B245DEE8D09.jpeg
Raise mag higher
 
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