Branching hammer question

[Reef_Obsessed]

So, I've had this branching hammer for at least 6 months + now. It started out 3 heads and split to 10...polyps and flesh are looking great, always fully extended....my question pertains to the branching part (I guess you would call it the skeleton)...the skeleton appears a little skinny. The branches are quite long and in some spots appear kind of hollow. I know that pics tell a thousand words, but I'm trying this without pics, because it will be kind of hard to get them...the piece is glued to a rock on an angle, about the middle of the tank. I would have to move the whole rock to get the best angle and I really don't want to tear apart my tank for that.

What do you all think? Is it okay? Can the skeleton be shaved down some or is that a complete no-no?

 

[d2mini]

The way a coral grows will vary from tank to tank.
The growth pattern, the branch length/thickness, polyp extension, color... these are all things governed by variables like flow and lighting.
As long as the polyps are extended and healthy and the color looks good I wouldn't worry about it.
If it's something that bothers you, you can try moving it to a different part of the tank. Or take a frag of it, put that in a completely different area and see how it does there.

 

[Reef_Obsessed]

The way a coral grows will vary from tank to tank.
The growth pattern, the branch length/thickness, polyp extension, color... these are all things governed by variables like flow and lighting.
As long as the polyps are extended and healthy and the color looks good I wouldn't worry about it.
If it's something that bothers you, you can try moving it to a different part of the tank. Or take a frag of it, put that in a completely different area and see how it does there.

cool! They look good. I am so curious to see how they would look if I moved them, but I'm afraid to disrupt the chemistry. Thanks for the reply

 

[Fieryfrog]

Usually, a thinner and longer branch is due to low flow and lower light. Is this where yours is?
A heavier flow usually makes for a thicker branch. In low flow, the branches don't need to grow thick to be stable.
Just my observation.

 

[Reef_Obsessed]

Usually, a thinner and longer branch is due to low flow and lower light. Is this where yours is?
A heavier flow usually makes for a thicker branch. In low flow, the branches don't need to grow thick to be stable.
Just my observation.

yeah, that sounds about right. I'm going to try and post some pics and a 30 second video that I just took, just as a reference

 

[Reef_Obsessed]

Light just came on so the corals are just waking up, lol, not fully extended as of yet


This is my first attempt at a marine/reef tank. Started out a FOWLR, than the hunger attacked. Started picking up frags and here we are 1 and 1/2 year later. One thing I can say is that this tank has taught me a lot about what to do and NOT to do when I create a huge masterpiece, lol.

10 Gallon with LED light. Bonded pair of chocolate clowns. Bought the LED on EBAY for $100, works great and all the coral has grown and spread throughout the tank. Each coral in the pic was a little frag and you can see how they've grown and spread. Still working on getting up the video...I just want to show the flow, but so far, no luck. Any critiques are welcomed and appreciated

 

[eliramos]

Great growth! Wish I could get my euphylia to grow lol

 

[AdamNC]

For my Hammer and Duncan to be happy I have to place them in a low-med back and forth flow from my wave pumps.

 

[13jake]

Ok I know where you are coming from I have a branching frogspawn that's about the size of a grapefruit. I found the corals natural grow like that so all the heads can get light and fully spread out.