i was sold a hammer as branching but now i’m thinking it might be a wall hammer? help please!

[vetteguy53081]

Wall hammer and not recommended for a newer tank , but a tank rather that is very stable

 

[postmalonestoes]

That's surprising-- I would expect there to be more life on there. E.g. algae and stuff. Any idea why it's so sterile? A 4.5 month old tank is often coated in all kinds of growth. I know this is a bit of a tangent, but I'm thinking that at 4.5 months a biological equilibrium should be on its way to being established and some microalgae are a part of that.

A 4.5 month old system should easily house many LPS corals, and a hammer shouldn't really present much of an issue.

How large is the tank? Have you tried any other corals? How long have you had fish in the system?

there is a thin coating of brown diatom on all the live rock but my camera just isn’t picking it up. i also have the tiniest bit of coralline in there. the tank is a ten gallon with 2 clownfish that have been in there for a month along with 2 astrea snails and a hermit. i have a zoa garden with 5 zoas and a gsp carpet/colony

 

[postmalonestoes]

The main thing people are wondering is if your tank/system has enough beneficial biological bacteria (matured) to support the coral. A matured live rocks do not maintain their white color.

This my new tank last March:

But in my sump are 30+lbs of these 5 yrs old live rocks from my old tank:

Yes, that’s clown eggs on top of an RBTA.

Here’s that hammer a month later:


Having matured/live rocks does help.

that’s a really nice set up! i have a couple of different algaes in there

 

[newbie2014]

that’s a really nice set up! i have a couple of different algaes in there

Appreciate that. It’s my first tank/sump setup after 5 yrs of reefing.

I’ve never kept a wall hammer before, so I can’t give you any tips. But I never had any issue with my branching hammer. It grew from 5 heads to two 30-40 heads colonies.

 

[postmalonestoes]

Appreciate that. It’s my first tank/sump setup after 5 yrs of reefing.

I’ve never kept a wall hammer before, so I can’t give you any tips. But I never had any issue with my branching hammer. It grew from 5 heads to two 30-40 heads colonies.

thanks

 

[Chrisv.]

How large is this coral? I'm still firmly in the "this is one polyp of a branching hammer that was about to split, not a wall hammer" camp.

I'm really not sure what to make of the decline of this one. You mentioned some salinity band alk issues...that may be the root cause of this. All I can say is "bummer, don't give up." If you don't have one already, I suggest posting a build thread so you can track your progress and get feedback on the challenges you face. That's the best way for the community to help.

 

[postmalonestoes]

How large is this coral? I'm still firmly in the "this is one polyp of a branching hammer that was about to split, not a wall hammer" camp.

I'm really not sure what to make of the decline of this one. You mentioned some salinity band alk issues...that may be the root cause of this. All I can say is "bummer, don't give up." If you don't have one already, I suggest posting a build thread so you can track your progress and get feedback on the challenges you face. That's the best way for the community to help.

it’s about five centimeters long and i think your right because i’ve read online that every head and polyp has its own mind in terms of opening and at night as well as when i first got it the right side would open faster than the left side

 

[postmalonestoes]

How large is this coral? I'm still firmly in the "this is one polyp of a branching hammer that was about to split, not a wall hammer" camp.

I'm really not sure what to make of the decline of this one. You mentioned some salinity band alk issues...that may be the root cause of this. All I can say is "bummer, don't give up." If you don't have one already, I suggest posting a build thread so you can track your progress and get feedback on the challenges you face. That's the best way for the community to help.

also, i’m fairly new to r2r how do i post a build thread

 

[polyppal]

I recently lost a $200 hammer wall in a fairly mature system :/

i won’t do walls anymore

 

[postmalonestoes]

I recently lost a $200 hammer wall in a fairly mature system :/

i won’t do walls anymore

wow that sucks. how did it happen?

 

[postmalonestoes]

thanks for all the help everyone! it seems to be doing so much better even though there’s still some white skeleton showing at the left side. worst comes to worst i’ll have to cut the left side off but i’m confident at least a frag of the hammer will be ok.

 

[Chrisv.]

I would hold off on fragging it. Looks like it is on track. There is no disadvantage to leaving it as is, and you run the risk of damaging it if you frag. Once it's recovered fully you should revisit fragging if you want, but give it a month or so. There is no rush.

 

[Coralsdaily]

Looks like a wall, and if the tissue begins to retract on an end be ready to frag…

 

[postmalonestoes]

I would hold off on fragging it. Looks like it is on track. There is no disadvantage to leaving it as is, and you run the risk of damaging it if you frag. Once it's recovered fully you should revisit fragging if you want, but give it a month or so. There is no rush.

for sure! i think we’ve had a bit of a misunderstanding though because i said if worst comes to worst, it would be a last resort if it takes a few steps back in its progress. but thank you so much for your help!

 

[N.Sreefer]

I recently lost a $200 hammer wall in a fairly mature system :/

i won’t do walls anymore

Same here and I also paid 200 never doing a wall ever again.

 

[Dburr1014]

i got this “branching” hammer exactly 2 weeks ago and everyone at the store told me it was a branching hammer but now just by the looks of it with more research it seems like it might be a wall hammer. can someone help clarify that? thanks. (p.s. it looks a little beat up cause it’s not adapted to my parameters yet and i just fixed an alkalinity/salinity problem but it’s fine now)

I have read most of the replies but I can't tell if it's a branching or a wall by the pic. If you can get it to receded and take a pic so we can actually see the base then we will know what it is. To do that, just need to "bump" it a couple times and the head will fold in. Then we can see if it's 1 wall or a splitting head.

I never had a wall but I hear they are more difficult to care for and some just up and die with no explanation.

 

[ept]

it's branching.

i have a very similar hammer and thought it might be a wall like you, but then it started to split.

 

[postmalonestoes]

I have read most of the replies but I can't tell if it's a branching or a wall by the pic. If you can get it to receded and take a pic so we can actually see the base then we will know what it is. To do that, just need to "bump" it a couple times and the head will fold in. Then we can see if it's 1 wall or a splitting head.

I never had a wall but I hear they are more difficult to care for and some just up and die with no explanation.

that is what ended up happening so it was probably a wall. thanks for replying tho

 

[Duncan62]

i got this “branching” hammer exactly 2 weeks ago and everyone at the store told me it was a branching hammer but now just by the looks of it with more research it seems like it might be a wall hammer. can someone help clarify that? thanks. (p.s. it looks a little beat up cause it’s not adapted to my parameters yet and i just fixed an alkalinity/salinity problem but it’s fine now)

Wall.

 

[Chrisv.]

Wall.

Well it used to be, perhaps.