Help! What's wrong with my Hammer?

[glooper]

Came home from a couple days out of town and saw my hammer like this. Did something eat the polyps or is this severely retracted.
Thanks

Alk: 10
Calc: 465
Mag: 1440
Phos: 0
Nitrate: 5

 

[Lavey29]

Looks like it bailed. Do you see any color from top view?

 

[glooper]

Looks like it bailed. Do you see any color from top view?

theres a little color but it looks like a crater on tops of both

 

[Dburr1014]

theres a little color but it looks like a crater on tops of both

No polyps at all?
What do you have in the tank that may eat it?

 

[Lavey29]

theres a little color but it looks like a crater on tops of both

Well if there is any color it is still alive but not looking promising. LPS like nitrates at 10 and phosphate. 05 to .1. Your phosphate is 0

 

[Dburr1014]

Well if there is any color it is still alive but not looking promising. LPS like nitrates at 10 and phosphate. 05 to .1. Your phosphate is 0

Oh, good catch. What other coral you have op?

 

[glooper]

No polyps at all?
What do you have in the tank that may eat it?

I'm not sure. Would a starry blenny eat ALL of them. I've never seen it nip at any coral

 

[Privateye]

I don't think your phosphate did that. That receded really fast in 2 days. What animals do you keep? Do any other corals show signs of distress?

 

[glooper]

Well if there is any color it is still alive but not looking promising. LPS like nitrates at 10 and phosphate. 05 to .1. Your phosphate is 0

I'm still pretty new to reef-keeping. My tank is about 4 months old. What would be a way to raise phosphates

 

[glooper]

I don't think your phosphate did that. That receded really fast in 2 days. What animals do you keep? Do any other corals show signs of distress?

None of my other corals look bad at all. they all look just the same as when i left

 

[Lavey29]

I'm still pretty new to reef-keeping. My tank is about 4 months old. What would be a way to raise phosphates

Multiple easy ways. Coral nutrition like reef roids can raise them along with feeding fish more pellets. You can also dose neophos if you want but try to balance nitrate and phosphate levels like 10 nitrates and .1 phosphate would be good for LPS.

 

[glooper]

Oh, good catch. What other coral you have op?

I have about 10 or so. all are LPS, some zoas, mushrooms, xenia, kenya tree, just some starter ones.

 

[glooper]

Multiple easy ways. Coral nutrition like reef roids can raise them along with feeding fish more pellets. You can also dose neophos if you want but try to balance nitrate and phosphate levels like 10 nitrates and .1 phosphate would be good for LPS.

Okay, I'll stop in to my LFS tomorrow and look for something. Is there one you recommend the most?

 

[Lavey29]

I'm guessing since it was a newly added coral that it just had a bad reaction to the new environment. Corals do polyp bailout as a last means or survival. But if you have a big emerald crab or something then perhaps they got it to.

 

[Lavey29]

Okay, I'll stop in to my LFS tomorrow and look for something. Is there one you recommend the most?

Its personal preference. RED SEA AB plus will feed corals and boost phosphate if you dose it twice a week. Neophos is just strictly a phosphate dose and easy to use. Reef roids once a week will feed coral and raise phosphate too. Just don't let the number go up to high.

 

[glooper]

Its personal preference. RED SEA AB plus will feed corals and boost phosphate if you dose it twice a week. Neophos is just strictly a phosphate dose and easy to use. Reef roids once a week will feed coral and raise phosphate too. Just don't let the number go up to high.

Okay, thank you. Would it do any harm to leave it in or can it mess with the water chemistry?

 

[Lavey29]

Okay, thank you. Would it do any harm to leave it in or can it mess with the water chemistry?

If it has color you can leave it in. If you see any brown jelly oozing that's bad and remove it quickly and carefully.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I am not worried about phos and nitrate as I am about location. While hammer is not picky, the location may be not offering enough light or water flow. Euphyllia requires Stable tank conditions, and is intolerant to major swings in water quality, and is sensitive to almost any level of copper in the water. Since they are a large polyp stony coral, calcium and alkalinity are two very important water parameters that will affect the growth of your coral. This coral will start to die off if the calcium levels are too low. A calcium level of about 400 ppm is just right.
This coral species isn’t terribly picky when it comes to the proper placement in your tank. The trick would really be just to avoid the extremes. Avoid extremely bright locations or areas of very high current, and avoid areas that are too dark or with currents that are too low. Fast currents risk damaging the soft, fleshy polyps (and getting an infection). Bright lights will cause bleaching. Insufficient lighting will cause the poor coral to wither away and starve to death.
Hammer corals only require a moderate amount of light for photosynthesis and can grow well in the intermediate regions of your tank. Just about any reef LED lighting should be sufficient for most tanks. Reduce white light intensity and get it off the sand bed which sand can irritate it.
The polyps should sway in the current, but not sustain so much pressure they are constantly bent over their skeleton. Too much flow will tear the polyps (worst case) and cause the polyps do not extend in the first place (best case). So, don’t give them too much flow.

 

[glooper]

I am not worried about phos and nitrate as I am about location. While hammer is not picky, the location may be not offering enough light or water flow. Euphyllia requires Stable tank conditions, and is intolerant to major swings in water quality, and is sensitive to almost any level of copper in the water. Since they are a large polyp stony coral, calcium and alkalinity are two very important water parameters that will affect the growth of your coral. This coral will start to die off if the calcium levels are too low. A calcium level of about 400 ppm is just right.
This coral species isn’t terribly picky when it comes to the proper placement in your tank. The trick would really be just to avoid the extremes. Avoid extremely bright locations or areas of very high current, and avoid areas that are too dark or with currents that are too low. Fast currents risk damaging the soft, fleshy polyps (and getting an infection). Bright lights will cause bleaching. Insufficient lighting will cause the poor coral to wither away and starve to death.
Hammer corals only require a moderate amount of light for photosynthesis and can grow well in the intermediate regions of your tank. Just about any reef LED lighting should be sufficient for most tanks. Reduce white light intensity and get it off the sand bed which sand can irritate it.
The polyps should sway in the current, but not sustain so much pressure they are constantly bent over their skeleton. Too much flow will tear the polyps (worst case) and cause the polyps do not extend in the first place (best case). So, don’t give them too much flow.

Okay I will move it out of the sand and try to reduce the white intensity and give it a couple of days. Thank you

 

[saltyfins]

Came home from a couple days out of town and saw my hammer like this. Did something eat the polyps or is this severely retracted.
Thanks

Alk: 10
Calc: 465
Mag: 1440
Phos: 0
Nitrate: 5

0 phos! starved. up your nutrients