Hammer almost dead

[NedFlounders]

Put a green hammer about 5" away from a torch. Looked happy for a while but then 2 weeks later, one of the two polyps on the hammer started receding. I moved the hammer in case it was getting stung by the torch. The one receding polyp soon turned into both polyps receding. Now, a month later, it appears almost dead, with one polyp being mostly brown and empty and the one remaining live polyp only extending a few of its arms to maybe 1/2'.

I thought hammer coral was supposed to be easy to maintain?


Parameters:
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 10ppm
Phosphate: .05ppm
Calcium: 350ppm
Magnesium: 1350ppm
Alkalinity: 10.6dKH
Salinity: 1.024
Ph: 8.2

Also did a 30% water change 2 weeks ago.

Any ideas?

 

[leemosh]

I've kept a few hammers and torches close together and never had one sting the other, but I'm not saying it couldn't happen. If it's still receding after you've moved it, I would wonder if you've got something in your tank that is harassing it, like a fish or invert? Or maybe some kind of disease? Was the hammer a new addition to your tank?

It doesn't seem to be your water parameters, but it could be something else like flow or lighting.

 

[jrp1588]

Euphilla don't sting each other to my knowledge. What's your lighting like? Other corals in there doing fine?

 

[NedFlounders]

Yeah the hammer was a new addition. And all of my other corals seem to be doing just fine. And i've never seen any fish paying any more attention to the hammer than anything else.

I dipped it in Coral RX like i do all of my corals before adding them to the tank. Could that maybe have done something to it?

As far as lighting, i have a Kessil A360 LED.

 

[Giants13]

Put a green hammer about 5" away from a torch. Looked happy for a while but then 2 weeks later, one of the two polyps on the hammer started receding. I moved the hammer in case it was getting stung by the torch. The one receding polyp soon turned into both polyps receding. Now, a month later, it appears almost dead, with one polyp being mostly brown and empty and the one remaining live polyp only extending a few of its arms to maybe 1/2'.

I thought hammer coral was supposed to be easy to maintain?


Parameters:
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 10ppm
Phosphate: .05ppm
Calcium: 350ppm
Magnesium: 1350ppm
Alkalinity: 10.6dKH
Salinity: 1.024
Ph: 8.2

Also did a 30% water change 2 weeks ago.

Any ideas?

personally i would bring up the calcium to about 400 at least and drop the dkh to around 8, but I'm not sure if that will kill a hammer.

 

[Taahirs]

Torches have a stronger sting than hammers and frogspawn. Hammers and frogspawn can be placed near each other but torches will sting hammers to death.

 

[jayball]

Euphilla don't sting each other to my knowledge. What's your lighting like? Other corals in there doing fine?

hammers and frogs typically get along well enough but a torch can sting the lot of them.

 

[jrp1588]

hammers and frogs typically get along well enough but a torch can sting the lot of them.

Yeah, I stand corrected. I just looked into it some more.

 

[NedFlounders]

I should add that I've been using Kalkwasser as well lately to get the calcium up.

 

[jayball]

I should add that I've been using Kalkwasser as well lately to get the calcium up.

Is the addition being spread out well through the day? Kalk can spike your PH if added rapidly.

It should also not be used to raise Alk or Cal, only maintain it.

 

[NedFlounders]

Is the addition being spread out well through the day?

yeah i let it mix overnight and then drip it into the ATO.

 

[Sk8r]

Hammer and frog can touch for a while, before they get annoyed. Torch, not so much.

Keep the skeleton. It may bud sideways if there's living tissue left. Or not. Hard to predict. Youi might also run carbon to clear the coral chemicals from the water.

 

[nuxx]

personally i would bring up the calcium to about 400 at least and drop the dkh to around 8, but i'm not sure if that will kill a hammer.

+1

 

[NedFlounders]

update:

I got a hanna checker for calcium today. The test read 554ppm. If it's a correct high reading, then:
1. will that throw the alkalinity out of whack?
2. cause a hammer to die?

 

[Giants13]

update:

I got a hanna checker for calcium today. The test read 554ppm. If it's a correct high reading, then:
1. will that throw the alkalinity out of whack?
2. cause a hammer to die?

I'm not a scientist but yes, i do believe that alkalinity magnesium, and calcium have to be stable for the other to be stable. This is just what i always thought but i could be wrong.