My Hammer is Mad and I don't know why

[Siberwulf]

I've recently acquired a new piece, this hammer. You can see he's not happy:

I've got other softies in here doing just fine:



Flow is low in his area, but tank parameters are fine. Detectable Nitrate, etc. seem ok.

Any thoughts or things I should check?

 

[Reefing102]

How recent did you add him? What kind of lighting is he under? Did you dip it before putting it in the tank?

Others are going to be asking for exact numbers for tank Params.

Any fish you noticed picking at it?

 

[JGT]

I've recently acquired a new piece, this hammer. You can see he's not happy:

I've got other softies in here doing just fine:



Flow is low in his area, but tank parameters are fine. Detectable Nitrate, etc. seem ok.

Any thoughts or things I should check?

Looks like it is 2 heads but from what I can see the 2nd head has no flesh. Is this the case? The head I can see, can't tell if the flesh is up and over the skeleton of completely receded within. BTW, your goni is not a softie. It's an LPS.

 

[jeffchapok]

BTW, your goni is not a softie. It's an LPS.

For that matter, so is the hammer.

 

[JGT]

Very true.

 

[Covett03]

I’ve put a frammer in that opened in 15 mins after dipping and dripping. Got another frammer from same guy out of the same tank. He took a day or so to open up. Got a torch from the guy same tank and the torch didn’t open up until I moved him to a spot it liked. I’d give it some time. Also if it’s higher in the tank with greater park than it’s use to it might just be ticked for a few.

 

[Siberwulf]

For that matter, so is the hammer.

Two things learned today! Thank you!

 

[Siberwulf]

To answer teh questions so far:

Lighting - 3x API Prime 16s on the following settings:



Water Params all tested Monday (and they don't move much it seems):

• Alk: 7.9 (checked today)
• Ca: 410
• Mg: 1360
• NO3: 2ppm (it was riding at zero, but I started dosing NeoNitro to get it up.
• PO4: 0.08

He was added to the tank on Tuesday of this week. Not dipped. I don't notice any fish picking at it, but they are hanging around it a bit, mostly below. The rear head has no flesh on it and the front head is the one that just doesn't want to open up.

 

[jeffchapok]

How mature is this tank? I had zero success with hammers or any other euphyllia for the first year.

 

[Siberwulf]

How mature is this tank? I had zero success with hammers or any other euphyllia for the first year.

It's about 8 months old and currently looking like Cyano is going to be a challenge to fight...

 

[vetteguy53081]

Low light and best located at lower third of 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.

 

[Cell]

Looks like you already lost the other head?

 

[Siberwulf]

Looks like you already lost the other head?

When I purchased it, it came with the dead head.

 

[MaxTremors]

I’ve put a frammer in that opened in 15 mins after dipping and dripping. Got another frammer from same guy out of the same tank. He took a day or so to open up. Got a torch from the guy same tank and the torch didn’t open up until I moved him to a spot it liked. I’d give it some time. Also if it’s higher in the tank with greater park than it’s use to it might just be ticked for a few.

Your corals will open faster if you just float, dip, and drop. Drip acclimating corals is an unnecessary waste of time at best, and harmful at worst. Corals are self acclimating, getting them into flowing water so they can respirate as soon as possible is best practice. Leave the drip acclimation for inverts (clams especially).

 

[Siberwulf]

Your corals will open faster if you just float, dip, and drop. Drip acclimating corals is an unnecessary waste of time at best, and harmful at worst. Corals are self acclimating, getting them into flowing water so they can respirate as soon as possible is best practice. Leave the drip acclimation for inverts (clams especially).

Yeah, I did Temp acclimate and dropped it in

 

[DrZoidburg]

Makes one wonder why did it lose other head? Also how did it look when you bought it.

 

[Covett03]

Your corals will open faster if you just float, dip, and drop. Drip acclimating corals is an unnecessary waste of time at best, and harmful at worst. Corals are self acclimating, getting them into flowing water so they can respirate as soon as possible is best practice. Leave the drip acclimation for inverts (clams especially).

Autocorrect. I didn’t catch it. I float and dip corals. Float and drip inverts. Thanks. My torches and hammers are doing just fine