HELP! Something Ate my Hammer!

[n00bReefer]

Last night everything was fine .. woke up this morning and my Hammer corral's top has been eaten to the bone!!!! :( The object beside the hammer is an empty shell case.

Haven't had any issues with corals being eaten until this morning.

My tanks has the following:

4 - Hermit Crabs ( 2 blue and 2 orange legs )
5 - Snails 2 turbos, 3 nerith ( sp )
1 - Clown
1 - Citron Clown Goby
1 - Firefish Goby
1 - Springer Damsel

Haven't seen any hermits climb the tank before and the snails don't seem to bother any of the corals.

 

[RedoubtReef]

I've never owned a hammer coral, but I've had other LPS that bail out of their skeleton. If it bailed out, maybe the flow pushed it back behind your rocks?

 

[exnisstech]

I don't see anything on your list that I'm aware would eat a hammer. It's possible it just died. It looks small like maybe a singe head? It wouldn't be uncommon, at least no for me. I've had pretty decent luck with frogspawn but no so much hammer and torches and I have had then die within 24hrs.

 

[n00bReefer]

I don't see anything on your list that I'm aware would eat a hammer. It's possible it just died. It looks small like maybe a singe head? It wouldn't be uncommon, at least no for me. I've had pretty decent luck with frogspawn but no so much hammer and torches and I have had then die within 24hrs.

I can understand that but if it died I believe I would have noticed it looking in bad shape. This went from nice and plump to its top completely taken off. Sad too it was such a cool looking coral too !

 

[exnisstech]

I can understand that but if it died I believe I would have noticed it looking in bad shape. This went from nice and plump to its top completely taken off. Sad too it was such a cool looking coral too !

Agreed it is sad. I've had them just drop heads for no reason. Worst was a $400 hellfire torch. Did good for a few weeks and died over night. It's they last torch I'll try.

 

[afrokobe]

I can understand that but if it died I believe I would have noticed it looking in bad shape. This went from nice and plump to its top completely taken off. Sad too it was such a cool looking coral too !

you should check parameters, but sometimes it just happens. I have had better luck with aquacultured stuff than freshly imported.

 

[n00bReefer]

So I think this "bail" out may be right ... I see chunks of it on the bottom of the sea bed and in the rocks ....

 

[afrokobe]

So I think this "bail" out may be right ... I see chunks of it on the bottom of the sea bed and in the rocks ....

if you have a mushroom box or something, you could try putting the polyps in there. Super rare for it to regrow skeleton but it has been done before.

I had a torch bail before and it regrew a small skeleton, but flow managed to kick under the rocks and i lost track of it

 

[Uncle99]

Crabs.

 

[littlefoxx]

I cant keep hammers for whatever reason. They end up like this in my tank a lot, only one thats hasnt is one from biota