Help with Hammer Coral

I

irisheyes

New member
I have had this Hammer Coral for about 2 weeks. It is melting! All my other Corals, mostly softies are fine. My water perimaters are good. I tested here at home and the LFS tested also. I have tried dipping in Fresh Water for a few seconds, and then bought Kent D. I dipped in that, waited a day and used the paint brush for a direct hit on the decomposing tissue. It is still melting. The LFS doesn't have Lugols or I would have tried that. This Hammer has 4 heads. I have lost 1 and the others on each side are starting to go.
Any Idea's!
 
hmmm...

Need more info. What size tank? How many softies? It could be that the softies chemicals are doing a real number on the hammer. If you can set up a small quarantine tank to put the hammer in that might be best to get it out of chemical warfare.
Also is your alk and calcium where they should be?

take care,
Jared
 
I have been fighting HA for awhile, but it seems to be better. The only other Corals I have are several Red Mushrooms, 1 Green Ricorda, 1 Umbrella Polyp, and 1 BTA. The Hammer isn't near any of them.
75 Gal, tank
Lighting= 4/ 110W VHO
PO4= 0
Nitrates=0
Cal=450
Temp=80
Salinity=1.025
I don't have a ALK. test kit. I will order one.
 
What do you know about the 'Umbrella Polyp'? Could it be a leather/octocoral?

When I did a quick search of RC I found lots of references to a Umbrella leather. I ask because there known allelopathic interactions between some leathers and Euphyllia spp.

This is talked about in this month's RC magazine Coral naming.
 
Last edited:
What are you using to check your specific gravity? I recently picked up a refractometer (I'd been using a swing-arm hydrometer before) and discovered my specific gravity was not actually 1.025 like I had thought, but over 1.030. Now, the reason I ask this specifically is because I had a hammer frag that was doing great for about a week or so and then mysteriously started dying on me while my other corals were doing great. I bought a new frag to try again, and after 3 weeks, it's doing wonderfully and the only water parameter I know of that's changed is the salinity. It's only a theory, since my first frag may have just had another problem I wasn't aware of, but it seems like the hammer may have been more sensitive to salinity than the rest of the corals. . .again, just a theory.
 
I am thinking about buying a Refractometer. Right now I have 4 Hydrometers. 3 say 1.025 and one says 1.024. Yesterday I took some water to the LFS to have it tested and also had them test the PH and Specific Gravity. They only have a Hydrometer also, but theirs showed 1.025 which they thought high.
I just remembered something weird. When I bought the Hammer it had something black things on the stalk. At first I thought it was some kind of harmless polyp. It was soft tissue that felt kind of like a Mushroom. Yesterday, I removed them with my nail. Wish I had removed them before. Maybe they did something. I really didn't notice any damage on the stalk. They stayed in the same place all the time and were different shapes. Has anyone ever heard of this?
 
I have been moving it around. It is about 6" below the water line and is getting medium flow right now. My canopy which holds the light is about 4" from the top of the tank. I have tried moving it up and down and high flow and medium. It just keeps melting. I am about to give up on it. It is very sad!!
 
What kind of lighting? Have you tried in down low in your tank? Maybe your lighting is too strong for it? Do you know what lighting it was under at the LFS?

How long did you have it before it started to look bad?

How did you acclimate it?

Not sure what else your water params are likely ok, since your BTA isn't showing signs of stress and the tests look ok.
 
It started to go bad about 2 days after I got it. I acclimated it for 1/2 hour in a dark tank for the water temp and then an hour on drip. Since getting this emailthe Hammer is on the bottom of the tank. I have already tried that, but it is worth another try. I don't know what kind of lights the LFS has. They didn't seem very bright.
 
I sure am crossing my fingers that I can save at least some of it. I just love Hammers and Frogspawn. If my Hammer comes around I will get some Frogspawn soon.
Thanks everyone for the advice and help!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

P
50 Gallon Stocking Help
2
Replies
21
Views
912
Urka
U
S
Flow questions
Replies
5
Views
453
Sermanley
S
K
Aquaforest lab test results. Advise?
Replies
2
Views
540
griss
griss
P
Can I get another fish?
Replies
3
Views
460
griss
griss
M
Frogspawn Issue Help.
Replies
10
Views
665
MNtadpole
M
Back
Top