super tiny hammer frags

[andrewkw]

I broke these off a colony yesterday. Not sure how they will do on their own this size, while they may die I'd like to think at least 1 or 2 will survive to full size. I broke 4 off, 3 are pictured and all 4 have opened up. They were actually pretty hard. I tried to snap them with tweezers but needed bone cutters to cut them.

The reason I broke them is they were growing between heads and facing the next skeleton not up. So not only do they not have room to grow but they are not facing the right orientation. There are still other babies attached to the mother colony which I left both to compare and because they have more room so they don't need to be fragged.

Assuming they survive I will post updates, or a picture of teeny tiny skeletons.

 

[VB313]

I don’t see why the won’t survive

 

[Harrkim120]

Any update on the little ones? [emoji4]

 

[andrewkw]

All 4 are still alive, they have grown some algae and perhaps gotten slightly bigger.
Estimated time until full grown 2025

They probably will reach decent size within 1-2 years but this is a good example of why aquaculture cannot replace wild collection unless you have acres of vats growing tens of thousands of frags and have a 5 year head start. I am in no way against aquaculture I'd love to have a coral farm someday but to suggest they can replace wild collection is just not realistic anytime soon.

 

[Harrkim120]

You just need to know how to market them, that's all. Andrew's aquacultured miniature hammers! [emoji16]

 

[aquaman99]

You just need to know how to market them, that's all. Andrew's aquacultured miniature hammers! [emoji16]

If they stayed that small I'd be all over buying one! lol. But I like miniature things. @Harrkim120 is right about the marketing. Or, you can market them as "test your skills by growing a hammer from birth".

 

[Max!]

This is our version of puppies and I freakin love it.

 

[andrewkw]

Here is another baby. A toadstool. I'm actually pretty sure these guys have spawned in my frag tank. I have found quite a few on the eggcrate and a few far from where my frags / mother colonies are. Unlike the hammers inside a year this should be a decent sized piece :

 

[aquaman99]

Here is another baby. A toadstool. I'm actually pretty sure these guys have spawned in my frag tank. I have found quite a few on the eggcrate and a few far from where my frags / mother colonies are. Unlike the hammers inside a year this should be a decent sized piece :

Spawning coral is my dream. Especially zoas. I wonder if this new spawn will have any new attributes.

 

[W1ngz]

I'd love to see what happens to itty bitty frags like that when kept in a purpose-built species specific environment, say with aggressively maintained pH at 8.3, ideal flow and just the right nutrient levels for euphyllia.

 

[andrewkw]

I think they are a little bigger - but still think they are years away from full size.

I am aware there are flatworms, will be dosing flatworm exit on the weekend.

 

[Schnizzle]

This is probably my favorite thread. Thanks for sharing and updating!

 

[Katrina71]

You just need to know how to market them, that's all. Andrew's aquacultured miniature hammers! [emoji16]

Micro hammers! Love these little guys.

 

[Mastiffsrule]

Those are cool. Hammers have always grown weird for me. For months no growth, than 3 heads a month

Give them some crazy name like micro plantet hammer and sell the 500 a piece

 

[rogersb]

How are these looking now? I found what I think was an euphyllia spawn in my tank and glued it to a plug. Am wondering how long these take to grow.

 

[andrewkw]

How are these looking now? I found what I think was an euphyllia spawn in my tank and glued it to a plug. Am wondering how long these take to grow.

Sorry to say I lost them after having some moderate issues in the frag tank - I guess it shouldn't be that surprising that super tiny corals are the most sensitive even even if the type is not.

That being said the colony is doing 100% fine in my display so maybe next time I'm doing a water change and target feeding I'll grab the colony and see if there are any new babies to snip off.

 

[piranhaman00]

My hammer colony has these little heads popping off the base as well, might give this a shot!