Is my hammer shot?

[emperata]

two headed branch has been p/o’d since l got it. closed (hard) for three days. How do l know if it’s kapput?

 

[jassermd]

Pic? Parameters and tank specifics would help greatly. Without additional information, it's hard to help...

 

[OrchidMiss]

two headed branch has been p/o’d since l got it. closed (hard) for three days. How do l know if it’s kapput?

can you share a photo of it?

 

[vetteguy53081]

two headed branch has been p/o’d since l got it. closed (hard) for three days. How do l know if it’s kapput?

While we await pics. . . . . .
Age of tank?
RODI water or Tap from the faucet?
** How did you acclimate coral ?
They dont fare well with bright light, high water flow, placement lower third of tank and calcium of at least 400ppm

 

[emperata]

Pic? Parameters and tank specifics would help greatly. Without additional information, it's hard to help...

It’s not a parameter thing. 50 yrs in the hobby. No offense. but it is my first hammer. Trying to add pic now.

 

[emperata]

It’s not a parameter thing. 50 yrs in the hobby. No offense. but it is my first hammer. Trying to add pic now.

 

[emperata]

While we await pics. . . . . .
Age of tank?
RODI water or Tap from the faucet?
** How did you acclimate coral ?
They dont fare well with bright light, high water flow, placement lower third of tank and calcium of at least 400ppm

CA 450

 

[emperata]

CA 450

And r/o of course.

 

[noobreefer2]

Having the same issue, following.

 

[jassermd]

Yeah, that's a gonner. Sorry!
Although there are some polyps on the one head, it's highly unlikely it will recover (at least not in my experience!)
And I'm impressed you've gone 50 yrs and this is your first hammer.

 

[vetteguy53081]

heavy recession. I never place them in sandbed as they are easily irritated by sand. As you can see some of mine below- Lower third of tank ideal. CA may be slightly high for them. How was it acclimated? Introduction for these best under blue or Low light.
Since they are a large polyp stony coral, calcium and alkalinity are two very important water parameters that will affect the growth of this coral which will start to die off if the calcium levels are too low. A calcium level of about 400 ppm is just right.
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.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Yeah, that's a gonner. Sorry!
Although there are some polyps on the one head, it's highly unlikely it will recover (at least not in my experience!)
And I'm impressed you've gone 50 yrs and this is your first hammer.

Not a goner until polyps have bailed out. Ive had worse and recovered fully

 

[JGT]

That’s toast. Sorry. By the look of it, it appears it may have not been the most healthy specimen to start. I see no area of skeleton that is algae free. If it was healthy, you should have had tissue over the head and down blocking out algae. So you should see more white on the skeleton around each head and I don’t see that.

 

[Cell]

I'm with Vetteguy in thinking that it could potentially still recover if the cause is fixed. I'd start with an H202 dip to clean it up then follow it up with an iodine dip and see how it responds.

 

[mindme]

They can still come back. But the one on the left looks close to being too far.

 

[noobreefer2]

I'm with Vetteguy in thinking that it could potentially still recover if the cause is fixed. I'd start with an H202 dip to clean it up then follow it up with an iodine dip and see how it responds.

Is it ok to dip a hammer in H202?

 

[mindme]

It’s not a parameter thing. 50 yrs in the hobby. No offense. but it is my first hammer. Trying to add pic now.

I'd bet it is a parameter thing unless you've just got some really crazy flow on it. If moving it to a lower flow area doesn't fix it, then probably a parameter thing. As someone who doesn't do water changes, believe me when I say other parameters can still matter.

Sandbed can bother them, but it shouldn't be that bad. I've had my diamond goby completely bury some of mine at times, and I had 1 smaller frag that I thought was dead show up about a month later elsewhere in the tank. It was almost bleached due to lack of light, and being buried, but still extended once it came to the surface. I replaced it, and now it's colored back up and doing fine.

I would test for metals, but I really don't know specifically what your issue is.

 

[Fishnut]

I had a hammer that lost it’s heads and all that was left was the skeleton. I left it in the tank and a few months later to my surprise a couple of tiny new heads developed from the side of the skeleton.

 

[Cell]

Is it ok to dip a hammer in H202?

Yes. Diluted as you would with zoas or any other LPS.

 

[Reefing102]

The left head looks almost too far. The right looks like it should be able to recover given good care.