What's wrong with my hammer coral?

[SomeReefGuy]

Hi all,

I purchased a hammer coral from a seller through the fb marketplace. I noticed it hasn't been fully opening, and there's some brown spots on the skin of the color. While the pictures of the hammer may seem brown, I think that's the color/angle of it. Any advice is appreciated

 

[LiveFreeAndReef]

Pictures?

 

[SomeReefGuy]

Pictures?

Sorry I posted them, can you see it?

 

[fushi]

It looks like a new tank, have you checked your water chemistry? Did you dip it before putting it in the tank? what lights are you running and how strong are they?

 

[LiveFreeAndReef]

Sorry I posted them, can you see it?

They're there now! For some reason they didn't show up at first

 

[SomeReefGuy]

It looks like a new tank, have you checked your water chemistry? Did you dip it before putting it in the tank? what lights are you running and how strong are they?

This is actually my second tank, it's been up for a month. Other corals (including my acan and other hammer are fine). I'm just worried about the brown color on some parts of this coral. Also yeah I dipped it, I run mostly blues. I'm just worried about blown jelly disease

 

[Hunter90 HD]

Looks rather high up in the tank might be too close to the light or too high flow...

I had that with my hammers would open all the way flow to strong moved him to a lower flow slighter higher light did not like it so had to place on the bottom with slow flow and lower light intensity..

I have found these to be a bit tricky in terms of placement but not too bad once you got the flow/ light correct..

And of course what water parameters do you have and what PAR is the light at in its current position?

 

[SomeReefGuy]

Looks rather high up in the tank might be too close to the light or too high flow...

I had that with my hammers would open all the way flow to strong moved him to a lower flow slighter higher light did not like it so had to place on the bottom with slow flow and lower light intensity..

I have found these to be a bit tricky in terms of placement but not too bad once you got the flow/ light correct..

And of course what water parameters do you have and what PAR is the light at in its current position?

Thanks for the reply, I just moved it for the time being to inspect it. My PH, Ammonia, Nitrate are all within normal ranges but I have not tested for the other parameters yet. Do you think this hammer has brown jelly disease? That's my biggest worry

 

[Hunter90 HD]

Thanks for the reply, I just moved it for the time being to inspect it. My PH, Ammonia, Nitrate are all within normal ranges but I have not tested for the other parameters yet. Do you think this hammer has brown jelly disease? That's my biggest worry

Its hard to make out on the photos, does it have any brown slime coming off the polps itself?

 

[SomeReefGuy]

Its hard to make out on the photos, does it have any brown slime coming off the polps itself?

Oh no, no brown slime off the polps. I will be keeping an eye on it though.

 

[MaxTremors]

Would need to know your Alk, phosphates, calcium, and also if they are stable. For now I would put it lower in the tank and less flow. And as far as the other parameters, what are the ‘normal ranges’ and again are they stable? If we’re going to help you we need more and specific info.

 

[SomeReefGuy]

Would need to know your Alk, phosphates, calcium, and also if they are stable. For now I would put it lower in the tank and less flow. And as far as the other parameters, what are the ‘normal ranges’ and again are they stable? If we’re going to help you we need more and specific info.

Thanks for the reply. I used to have an API test kit for that but it ran out (I got it used from someone else too) and I didn't buy it again. I definitely will buy a new kit, but all my other corals are doing fine (including another hammer). I'm going to put it another place, but wanted to clarify if you can see any diseases on this specific hammer? Thanks!

 

[MaxTremors]

Thanks for the reply. I used to have an API test kit for that but it ran out (I got it used from someone else too) and I didn't buy it again. I definitely will buy a new kit, but all my other corals are doing fine (including another hammer). I'm going to put it another place, but wanted to clarify if you can see any diseases on this specific hammer? Thanks!

Nothing that really stands out, it looks like there is some cyano/brown algae on it. When you move it, you can try to gently scrub that off with a toothbrush, be careful not to brush any living tissue. Just as a general rule, if you’re keeping stony corals, you really need to be testing for and have stable Alk, Cal, and Mag. You also need to make sure you have somewhat stable nitrates and phosphates (shoot for 5-20ppm on the nitrates, and 0.03-0.1ppm on the phosphates). I would also stay away from API brand tests, they’re notoriously inaccurate and the resolution of the tests is really low (meaning that they’re not very specific, for example the phosphate goes from 0 to 0.25, there’s a lot of room between those two numbers and in general you want it to below 0.1, so the test is worthless if you’re keeping your water within acceptable ranges).

 

[SomeReefGuy]

Nothing that really stands out, it looks like there is some cyano/brown algae on it. When you move it, you can try to gently scrub that off with a toothbrush, be careful not to brush any living tissue. Just as a general rule, if you’re keeping stony corals, you really need to be testing for and have stable Alk, Cal, and Mag. You also need to make sure you have somewhat stable nitrates and phosphates (shoot for 5-20ppm on the nitrates, and 0.03-0.1ppm on the phosphates). I would also stay away from API brand tests, they’re notoriously inaccurate and the resolution of the tests is really low (meaning that they’re not very specific, for example the phosphate goes from 0 to 0.25, there’s a lot of room between those two numbers and in general you want it to below 0.1, so the test is worthless if you’re keeping your water within acceptable ranges).

Thank you so much for your detailed reply. Yeah, I'm definitely purchasing some new tests kits this week. I appreciate your help

 

[fushi]

This is actually my second tank, it's been up for a month. Other corals (including my acan and other hammer are fine). I'm just worried about the brown color on some parts of this coral. Also yeah I dipped it, I run mostly blues. I'm just worried about blown jelly disease

As others have mentioned its hard to tell from the photos but it kinda looks like algae, I would give it some time in a lower light and flow area of the tank and see how it does. I also agree with Max's recommendations on testing and would add logging your test results, as it really gives you a good picture of how parameters changed over time which you can compare to what you visually see changing. I also like to remove foreign frag plugs or at least dip the plug (not the encrusted flesh of the coral) in hydrogen peroxide to help kill algae and other random pests.

 

[fushi]

I would also mention that some corals are more sensitive to fluctuations than others, so acans doing well is a good sign but not definitive. I have a green hammer that is extremely sensitive to any change but a pink hammer right next to it that always looks great.

 

[SomeReefGuy]

I would also mention that some corals are more sensitive to fluctuations than others, so acans doing well is a good sign but not definitive. I have a green hammer that is extremely sensitive to any change but a pink hammer right next to it that always looks great.

Thanks for both of your replies man, truly appreciate these tips. It's a great learning lesson, I'll go get some hydrogen peroxide to dip the frag plug, because it does have algae on it.