Hammer went from perfect to sad

[Gatling]

Well just like any coral, it can look perfect for weeks then all of a sudden look terrible. My hammer hasbeen in my tank for 3 weeks and has looked amazing. All of a sudden it's all deflated and it's been this way for 2-3 days. Here are some pictures.

Here it is now..

I did a 35% water change yesterday. I only have 1 fish in my nuvo 20 with 3 other zoas. Temperature and salinity don't swing. What could be causing this??

 

[Jake_the_reefer]

Perameters? Could still be acclimating.

 

[Gatling]

Perameters? Could still be acclimating.

I keep my temp at 78f and salinity at 1.025. I will check nitrates but I just did a water change last night. I use red sea coral pro salt.

Calc: 440
Mag: 1350
Alk: 11
Nitrate: < 2
Ammonia: < 0.25
pH: 8.2

The hammer was totally happy for 2 weeks and I haven't done anything to the tank. Do you think the hammer will recover the way it looks?

 

[evolved]

How much flow is there in that location? If there is fair amount, the tissue might be getting irritated.

 

[Jake_the_reefer]

I keep my temp at 78f and salinity at 1.025. I will check nitrates but I just did a water change last night. I use red sea coral pro salt.

Calc: 440
Mag: 1350
Alk: 11
Nitrate: < 2
Ammonia: < 0.25
pH: 8.2

The hammer was totally happy for 2 weeks and I haven't done anything to the tank. Do you think the hammer will recover the way it looks?

I assume the ammonia is from api test kit. They like to show a false reading. All else looks okay I'd guess flow. I've had hammers happy then almost die off due to too high of flow. Moved to lower flow and it came back to life after some time

 

[Icylder]

Do you run carbon in your system?

 

[Gatling]

How much flow is there in that location? If there is fair amount, the tissue might be getting irritated.

My hammer is in the opposite side of the tank from the power heads so it's very low flow but the side where the water circulates in does look much worse as in the photo below. I lowered my power head to the lowest setting (it was already 3/10 before). If it is a flow problem and the issue is damaged, will it recover?

Do you run carbon in your system?

I do have a bag of carbon, it's been in there for a month.

I assume the ammonia is from api test kit. They like to show a false reading. All else looks okay I'd guess flow. I've had hammers happy then almost die off due to too high of flow. Moved to lower flow and it came back to life after some time

Yeah I think it may be flow.. I just hope he'll recover well after lowering my pump settings.

 

[evolved]

If it is a flow problem and the issue is damaged, will it recover?

So long as it hasn't torn the tissue which might lead to an infection, yes.

 

[CivicS14]

The rocks and sand looks fresh. How long has your tank been up and running?

 

[biophilia]

Any chance you bumped it on one side and irritated the tissue during the water change? I’ve had hammers deflate for a few days after moving them around or dropping things on them. It’ll probably bounce back within a day or two...

 

[biophilia]

They can also get damaged if they’re removed from the water while fully inflated. I generally like to poke at them softly to get them to deflate before doing any work on the tank or water changes

 

[hotdrop]

You sure he isn’t pooping or splitting?

 

[Icylder]

My hammer is in the opposite side of the tank from the power heads so it's very low flow but the side where the water circulates in does look much worse as in the photo below. I lowered my power head to the lowest setting (it was already 3/10 before). If it is a flow problem and the issue is damaged, will it recover?

I do have a bag of carbon, it's been in there for a month.


Yeah I think it may be flow.. I just hope he'll recover well after lowering my pump settings.

Just be aware that carbon gets used up very quickly. When you’re doing water changes compare the color of your water in and out and it should be noticeable even with a system with only 1 week old carbon. It’s unlikely that it’s a toxin in the water from the zoas irritating the hammers but biological warfare is a thing among soft corals and why it’s recommended to change your carbon when you run them about every two weeks. In my IM NUVO 20 I use the IM media reactor and change my carbon every 2-3 weeks.
It’s probably not a carbon issue but you might want to try ruling it out if ~20% water changes every other day doesn’t solve your issue.

 

[Gatling]

Just be aware that carbon gets used up very quickly. When you’re doing water changes compare the color of your water in and out and it should be noticeable even with a system with only 1 week old carbon. It’s unlikely that it’s a toxin in the water from the zoas irritating the hammers but biological warfare is a thing among soft corals and why it’s recommended to change your carbon when you run them about every two weeks. In my IM NUVO 20 I use the IM media reactor and change my carbon every 2-3 weeks.
It’s probably not a carbon issue but you might want to try ruling it out if ~20% water changes every other day doesn’t solve your issue.

That's really good to know, this is my second tank but I didn't know that info that precisely! I use the chemi-pure baggies which are fairly cheap so ill get a bunch more.

You sure he isn’t pooping or splitting?

I haven't seen any brown stuff coming from the coral so i'm not sure but I dont think so as the coral seems to be somewhat in a happier state. (pic below)

I turned off my power head and the hammer seems to be more inflated but not fully extended. I'll give him a week without that power head as I'm off for vacation tomorrow (my parents take good care of the tank when im gone).

I turned my power head from 3/10 to 4/10 power last week so that may have irritated it. I will update you all soon!

The rocks and sand looks fresh. How long has your tank been up and running?

This Nuvo 20 has been running for 2 and a half months. Yes it's relatively new but I fully cycled it and my cardinal fish has been enjoying his home for the last month and a half
As mentioned, this is my second tank and I've been reefing for well over a year now. I made sure not to cheap out on equipment or skip water tests. Interestingly, after my cycle, I've had no algae what so ever even with feeding my fish daily. But the tank is 100% cycled as ammonia is low and nitrites are 0

 

[Gatling]

They can also get damaged if they’re removed from the water while fully inflated. I generally like to poke at them softly to get them to deflate before doing any work on the tank or water changes

That is good to know. I did my water change after it deflated and I only do 30-35% water changes so the coral never is exposed to air.

Also for context, I have 1 AI Prime in the center of the tank and the hammer is in the lower bottom corner of the tank; the furthest possible from the light. The hammer was extremely happy there for weeks so I will keep him on the sand bed.

 

[ScottB]

Beautiful hammer pictured there. Nice find.

The params posted are all OK as you know.
Do you have a Hanna phosphate reading?
Your nitrate reading of 2 is from what test kit?

The difference between 2 and zero is within the error margin of hobby grade test kits. And you have no algae.

So here is a theory: the hammer easily acclimates to the new environment because the basic water parameters are fine. After a while, the hammer begins to realize there is not enough to eat relative to the environment they were living/growing in before, so naturally decides to downsize.

Can be hard to get them to grab food when unhappy, but when you see him inflated, target feed him some mysis. And unless you have conviction that NO3 and PO4 steadily exist in your tank you should dirty it up with more fish and fish food.

 

[Mykawl]

I keep my temp at 78f and salinity at 1.025. I will check nitrates but I just did a water change last night. I use red sea coral pro salt.

Calc: 440
Mag: 1350
Alk: 11
Nitrate: < 2
Ammonia: < 0.25
pH: 8.2

The hammer was totally happy for 2 weeks and I haven't done anything to the tank. Do you think the hammer will recover the way it looks?

Alk is high imo is that what your salt mixes at?

 

[ScottB]

Alk is high imo is that what your salt mixes at?

Good catch. I think about nutrients all day and overlook the obvious.

 

[Icylder]

That's really good to know, this is my second tank but I didn't know that info that precisely! I use the chemi-pure baggies which are fairly cheap so ill get a bunch more.


I haven't seen any brown stuff coming from the coral so i'm not sure but I dont think so as the coral seems to be somewhat in a happier state. (pic below)

I turned off my power head and the hammer seems to be more inflated but not fully extended. I'll give him a week without that power head as I'm off for vacation tomorrow (my parents take good care of the tank when im gone).

I turned my power head from 3/10 to 4/10 power last week so that may have irritated it. I will update you all soon!



This Nuvo 20 has been running for 2 and a half months. Yes it's relatively new but I fully cycled it and my cardinal fish has been enjoying his home for the last month and a half
As mentioned, this is my second tank and I've been reefing for well over a year now. I made sure not to cheap out on equipment or skip water tests. Interestingly, after my cycle, I've had no algae what so ever even with feeding my fish daily. But the tank is 100% cycled as ammonia is low and nitrites are 0

I used the chemipure bags too but those get expensive after a while lol! I highly recommend bulkreefsupplies RX Carbon(pharma grade). You can bag as much as you need and it’s much cheaper for a better product. Win-win. You can also add on their regular bulk GFO and then you have both parts of chemipure. You can tailor the ratios of each to your system depending on how much of each gets used up to fit your maintenance schedule.

 

[Sarah24!]

Hello,

I have the same blue a green hammer (well one like it), and I can say it certainly would not like an alkalinity of 11. My alk is close to 7 calcium is 420 and nitrates are 2-4. When nutrients are low it’s better to run alk and calcium lower.

Running carbon all the time is not wise. It’s okay to put in for maybe two weeks then remove it for about a month. It’s been shown to cause hlle in fish, it can affect them in different time frames. Some fish it’s due to long exposure, others (aka tangs), 2 weeks is enough to start it. Yes there is still a lot unknown about hlle but most consider it from carbon dust particles. If you run this in your tank you may experience fish problems also.

My hammer was mad for a good 8 months and I still don’t know why. I changed light, flow, target feeding (pick and option). I then moved it literally an inch and now it’s back to normal. Sometimes we don’t know why they are mad etc, but unless your certain you know the cause, doing this extra stuff will just make it more mad. I’d try lowering the alk (SLOWLY) first. Do not let that swing to much in a 24 hour period. Try and drop it over 3-4 weeks time frame.