Is this Hammer splitting?

[chammergren]

I am new to reef aquariums but I will post my water parameters and then get to my question.

Magnesium - 1340 PPM
Calcium - 420 PPM
Ammonia - 0 PPM
Nitrite - 0 PPM
Nitrate - 0 PPM
Phosphate - 0 PPM
DkH - 9.5-10 dKH
pH - 8-8.1

My question is regarding hammer corals and what they look like in the process of splitting a head. I have a hammer frag that I picked up 3 weeks ago that has two larger heads and two small heads with another fifth branch where there was once a head that died before I purchased it. The biggest head has sort of flattened out and elongated a little bit over the past 4 or 5 days. The mouth has also been open wider than it was in the first two weeks of having it.

Is this something that occurs before the head splits or could this change in anatomy be related to something else? The mouth on the other head has remained circular in shape and small in comparison to the size of the head where the mouth on the larger head has become oval in shape and enlarged.

I know very little about coral propagation so I could be way off base but I just wanted to see what more experienced reefers thought.

 

[cloak]

FWIW my Euphyllia corals always split when I wasn't looking.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2012/10/corals

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2008/8/aafeature1

HTH.

 

[kjboggs]

Sometimes you will see a bubble when their splitting, but not always.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[chammergren]

Cloak- Thank you for the links, a lot of useful information there!


kjboggs- I have noticed the mouth seemingly inverting and bulging outward occasionally the last couple of days but after an hour or so it goes back to normal. When it is bulging out it is nowhere near the size of the bubble in the picture you posted though so I am not sure if it is related. Regardless, the frag looks to be healthy and it ate a small piece of mysis shrimp two days ago without regurgitating it.

Thank you both for your input!

 

[chammergren]

Here is a photograph of the mouth inverting as I mentioned in my previous reply. Shortly after the lights went out in the tank tonight it did this for a bit. I have never seen the mouths of the other heads on this frag do this.

 

[tskiller]

It looks like it. When mine split a few weeks ago thats how it looked right before. Give it a couple weeks and see how things go!