Hammer dying?

Davisc1293 · Feb 4, 2022

This hammer looked great for a couple weeks and is slowly closing up more and more. It seems to come out a little the first few hours of light then looks like this the rest of the day

Davisc1293 · Feb 4, 2022

Davisc1293 · Feb 4, 2022

PH 8.3-8.35
Temp 77.9-78.2
alk 9.3-9.5
cal 435-440
nitrates 5-10 ( I cant differentiate)
Phos ( practically undetectable)

Lighting:
AI Prime 16 12-14" over 32g BioCube
UV - 80%
V - 80%
RB- 100%
B- 100%
G & R - 0%
W- 17%

Lavey29 · Feb 4, 2022

Have you checked trace elements and complete parameters with an ICP test?

Do you feed your coral?

The photo shows a very shaded area.

Davisc1293 · Feb 4, 2022

I have not done an ICP but I do feed occasionally and add amino acids every other day or so.

Mal11224 · Feb 4, 2022

That looks like a wall hammer, which can be difficult to keep. Are you dosing anything outside of alk and calc and aminos? Too much flow can be an issue. Also, large fluctuations in alk can irritate it. I have one and it is doing well, but my tank is pretty stable and I keep it up against a rock structure.

Lavey29 · Feb 4, 2022

Davisc1293 said:
I have not done an ICP but I do feed occasionally and add amino acids every other day or so.

Well your numbers seem ok as long as you have a little phosphate so that leaves lights or flow or possibly trace elements as the source of the hammers retraction. Have you got par numbers for your tank? What kind of wave pumps do you use for flow? Hammers just need low flow and maybe 100 par at most.

Davisc1293 · Feb 4, 2022

I just turned the lights down a few % and moved it to a lower flow area hopefully it will improve.

Lavey29 · Feb 4, 2022

Davisc1293 said:
I just turned the lights down a few % and moved it to a lower flow area hopefully it will improve.

You can always RX dip it also in case there is a pest.

ninjamyst · Feb 4, 2022

Wall hammer are hard. How matured is your tank??

Lavey29 · Feb 4, 2022

ninjamyst said:
Wall hammer are hard. How matured is your tank??

Why are they considered hard compared to branching? I have both and both are doing well.

ninjamyst · Feb 4, 2022

Lavey29 said:
Why are they considered hard compared to branching? I have both and both are doing well.

For one....when they go bad, you can't just cut off a head. The whole thing starts to go downhill. They are more sensitive and more prone to brown jelly. I have both kinds too and my wall hammer been through a lot...but it takes time for them to get acclimated to our system

Lavey29 · Feb 4, 2022

ninjamyst said:
For one....when they go bad, you can't just cut off a head. The whole thing starts to go downhill. They are more sensitive and more prone to brown jelly. I have both kinds too and my wall hammer been through a lot...but it takes time for them to get acclimated to our system

Yes I'm aware that you can't cut off diseased heads buy not really sure why they would be more susceptible to problems? My walls seem to be growing better then my branching hammers.

vetteguy53081 · Feb 4, 2022

Do not dip - at least yet- This is recession and not disease. Recession comes from stress :
too high of flow
Too much or too little light
Calcium below 380

Get coral off sand and elevate to at least 3" off botttom
Take UV to 60%

Mastiffsrule · Feb 4, 2022

vetteguy53081 said:
Do not dip - at least yet- This is recession and not disease. Recession comes from stress :
too high of flow
Too much or too little light
Calcium below 380

Get coral off sand and elevate to at least 3" off botttom
Take UV to 60%

Sounds great. I don’t see any skeleton showing. It is just ticked off right now. UV does seem high. The good think about euphilya (yes i spell wrong ever tIme) is they will respond quickly if it is happy. Relocate as mentioned and see if it responds. If you start to see skeleton than there is concern.

CrimsonTide · Feb 4, 2022

If you put it near a rock and in low flow for awhile that should help. I have a wall hammer wedged in low flow against a rock and it does really well. Your numbers don't look bad. Maybe turn down your lights just a little bit and see if that helps as well.