Dying Hammer Coral. Help please.

[wskan3]

Hi everyone,
The hammer coral at my office started dying because the cyanobacteria is building up and trying to take over the hammer.

The hammer is now at 1/4 of it's initial size and the rest have turned into slime over the weekends. I waved off most of the slime but am not sure if I should be doing that as the slime are coming out from within the skeleton. Is this a sign of recovering or should I try my best to wave off most of the slime?

Thank you very much guys.

wskan3

 

[~RuSh~]

We need some more info about your tank.

How big is the tank? How much live rock? How long has it been cycled? Where is the hammer? Up high or down by the sand? Is it getting a lot of flow? Any pics?

 

[wskan3]

Hi Rush,

The tank is 72"x18"x24". There are about 40 kilos of live rocks in the tank and the tank is almost 10 months old. The tank took 1.5 months to cycle.

The hammer is in the middle of the tank sitting on a flat piece of live rock which is on the substrate. There is one powerhead at each end of the tank so the flow is just moderate and indirect.

I will try to get a pic and upload it here later today.

Thank you

 

[~RuSh~]

Sounds to me like you need to add some flow to the tank. A 125g is pretty big, I think most people have 3 or 4 powerheads creating flow for the corals and keeping dead spots and red slime at a minimum. I would also consider moving the hammer up - they do well in strong light and this might help it out a bit. Speaking of which, what type of lighting do you have? That can also be a factor...

 

[wskan3]

Thanks for your input Rush. The lights are 4 x HO T5 (2x10,000K & 2xactinic)

The 2 nozzles from the return pump are in the middle of the tank so the hammer should have enough flow I suppose? Moving up might be a good idea.

Cheers

 

[~RuSh~]

Yes, that should be enough. Mine like some movement, and the flow should help keep the cyano at bay. If the slime accumulates, I would shake it off. Did you test for ammonia/nitrite/nitrates at all? Sometimes cyano can be an indication that you have excess nitrates or phosphates... that may be another factor.

 

[wskan3]

Hi Rush,

Yes, I should try to adjust the powerhead to create more movement for the hammer.
My concern now is the clear slime coming out of the hammer not the cyano. It's covering the surface of the skeleton and I don't know if I should wave them off the skeleton.

What do you think?

 

[capt85]

Whenever I have had any "slime" on a LPS it has gone downhill QUICK!

If possible I would try and cut off any part that has no slime and hope to keep the healthy part.

 

[discus513]

Take a turkey Baster and blow off the cyno, if the slime you talk about coming out the the hammer is clear or cloudy I wouldnt worry about it, it is it;s natural way of cleansing itself, when ever you mess with a hammer it will slime out a little, it will even do it if you are moving it around somtimes. I would definetly add some flow to the tank and check your phoshates. I hope this helps

 

[~RuSh~]

I agree with discus513. I wouldn't worry too much about the clear slime. If the hammer is producing it, it's just trying to heal up. Good luck.