So, I've never had much luck with Euphyllia...

AllSignsPointToFish · Mar 15, 2016

But, trying to be an optimist, I bought a frag of a branching hammer at the LFS. I placed it in a makeshift PVC stand in the sand bed because I didn't want to permanently mount it since I was pretty sure I'd kill this one, too :/

Well, lo and behold, this one actually seems happy. So happy, in fact, that I even see two new polyps on the stalk. Now, I'm afraid to move him because he seems so happy exactly where he is. What should I do? Any suggestions?

dbl · Mar 15, 2016

Congrats on the success...finally. Is there any reason you can't keep it where it is, if it's happy? I'm a firm believer in not over thinking things...lol. I've got a branching hammer that started at about 5 heads, and it's now outgrown my tank...lol. Keep up the great work.

Kershaw · Mar 15, 2016

In my experience hammers love to be on the sand bed. I have had wall hammers, branching and frog spawn. I had a branch in hammer I bought with 2 heads in less then a year it had 14 and was bigger then a soft ball.

AllSignsPointToFish · Mar 15, 2016

dbl said:
Congrats on the success...finally. Is there any reason you can't keep it where it is, if it's happy? I'm a firm believer in not over thinking things...lol. I've got a branching hammer that started at about 5 heads, and it's now outgrown my tank...lol. Keep up the great work.

Just because the makeshift PVC stand is ugly. LOL. The coral is gorgeous, however

peedee · Mar 15, 2016

leave itand let it grow! Is the pvc protecting from flow at all or just holding it up? Give it long enough and you probably won't even be able to see the pvc.

Kershaw · Mar 15, 2016

Put it on small flat rock to keep it stable as it gets big

AllSignsPointToFish · Mar 15, 2016

peedee · Mar 15, 2016

might be better to listen to kershaw and putty it to a small rock. Leave it where its happy though.

dbl · Mar 15, 2016

AllSignsPointToFIsh said:

Okay...I agree, the coral is gorgeous but the PVC has to go...lol. Glue it to a piece of rock and support it until it takes.

AllSignsPointToFish · Mar 15, 2016

dbl said:
Okay...I agree, the coral is gorgeous but the PVC has to go...lol. Glue it to a piece of rock and support it until it takes.

Hahaha! I told you! Even if I cover the PVC with coralline algae, it's still *****!

ZoaReefer · Mar 16, 2016

If you wait until lights out when the hammer retracts, it'll take moves a little better.

AllSignsPointToFish · Mar 16, 2016

ZoaReefer said:
If you wait until lights out when the hammer retracts, it'll take moves a little better.

I'm so gun shy about moving the hammer just due to bad luck in the past. I had polyp bailout on a frogspawn frag that I bought, and that one is finally but slowly coming back from new polyp growth on the stalk. I also had another frag of branching hammer from exactly the same parent colony, fragged at the same time, go through polyp bailout as well. I'd like to do something about the PVC, but I'm afraid that this one would have trouble adapting. It even has two new polyps growing on the stalk, and I'd hate to lose it all.

hart24601 · Mar 16, 2016

I have had all sorts of hammers and frogspawn and they were pretty easy. Branching that is, wall didn't do well for me. Rock, sandbed, 100 par, 600 par high flow, low flow - honestly those are all the places I have had them! I would glue to some rock here. If you have clowns look out, I have had clowns host frogspawn just fine, but other hammers and torch they cut the tissue and brown jelly overnight. Doesn't always happen, but I wondered why my torches always jellyed, sure enough caugh the clown "love" it.