Hammer Coral Questions

[Brickyardpub]

I got this guy from my LFS about 2 months ago and he seems to be doing ok. It was purchased from a misc. frag tank and its name not listed .... but i *think* its a hammer???

here's a couple pics of it....

http://http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e136/stevematthews76/DSC00519.jpg


http://http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e136/stevematthews76/DSC00527.jpg


two months in and I have not really seen it take off with growth and being my first coral , aside from some mushrooms I have in the tank also I don't really know what to expect. Here are my questions :

Do I need to feed these guys? or will they pick up what they need from the light and my regular twice a day feedings of zooplankton, flake, cyclop-eze, etc.??

Do they look healthy to you?? Sometimes I don't know how to judge being new and all?

How quickly do they split or reproduce??

Do I have proper lighting for them??? ( I was thinking of adding a second fixture when I get an anemone down the road )


They are located mid tank under a 216 watt Nova Extreme T-5 located right on the glass , not raised at all. Too little light ?? Too much light??

ANY advice is greatly appreciated!!!

[Brickyardpub]

sorry... first time trying to post pics..

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e136/stevematthews76/DSC00519.jpg

[lobstergrabber]

It is definitely a hammer coral. You don't need to feed it but it will take most anything. I have fed mine mysis before but pretty much it only gets what falls on it when I feed the fish. Your lights should be fine, positioning as well. They like a moderate flow(enough to make them sway) but not so much that it is constantly blown to one side. It may take awhile for it to really start growing in its new environment, just be patient. It looks healthy. My euphelia species generally split every 3-6 months so it may take awhile. I tend to buy them a little bigger just because one that has four heads will double to eight heads in the same time that one that has one head will double to two. Things just take time. They are nice corals though and yours seems to be happy.

Rich

[belgian_waffleman]

My hammer stayed the same size for quite a while, with every lighting upgrade I could see the Hammer getting bigger quicker and more bright.
My hammer loves the 250W MH (12000K reefflux).

Because of all the blue-ish bulbs you have, you may get get the PAR that a hammer coral would enjoy. I would try switching one of 75/25 with an 11K or 10K bulb

hth,

Waffleman

[Brickyardpub]

thanks... as of right now it has 2 heads and I've defnitely noticed what seems to be more of the arms springing up throughout each. I have recently even seen two heads starting to split off the same arm.. if you look close in the bottom center you 'll notice one of them has a little baby nub starting to sprout. With the next upgrade I plan on getting another 2 bulb T-5 Fixture with an Aquasun and another Blue Plus to cover the entire width of the tank... making 6 total. From what I've gathered 6 t-5's should be enough to grow just about any Softy or LPS that I may want , right?? I was on the fence about getting another unit... but I def think I'm going to invest...

when I purchased my guy told me those were a little trickier to keep, but I should be fine with my setup... and if it didn't work out the frag was only 19.99 for the two heads, not a huge loss..

[Dustin1300]

When the heads actually start to seperate they will form a bubble that almost looks as if it is about to burst and then before you know it your head just split again! I love watching mine double in size so fast...I started with 4 heads in september and now have 7 going on 8!

[lobstergrabber]

Not too sure about t-5s myself but I am sure I would only take advice from a LFS with a grain of salt. Make a post on the lighting forum or just do some reading, I am sure there is a huge t5 thread somewhere.
I have never had them but will probably do some research because thinking of a smaller tank for living room and will probably go that way.


Rich

[Lockhartia]

I have my pink wall hammer under T5's as well and it's doing great (A Nova as well...24" fixture). I have several frogspawns and a torch as well, I wouldn't worry about the lighting.

I feed mine weekly with some mysis and cyclopeeze. I have to watch to make sure they get them and shoo away any fish too lazy to catch their own.

What's your calcium and magnesium levels at? I noticed once I started to up my calcium level, my frogspawns and torch started sprouting new heads like crazy!

[Brickyardpub]

The one thing I have to say is my LFS is definitely one of the best I have come across. The Fish Place is the name and I've been going there for my fish needs for the last 8 years... I can't say enough about their staff ( the managers , anyway ) and the recommendations they give. That being said... they run primarily VHO setups and Halide VHO combo's, but limited experience with T-5.

Lockhartia... with regards to your question I recently switched to Reef Crystals from IO. At this time i only have a small rock of Ricordia Yuma ( I think ) and the hammer seen above as I am just starting to get into the corals.. My tank is very lightly stocked so the draw is minimal. I just checked them last week and I was at about 420 Cal and 1200 Mag ... which is pretty much what they claim. I also change out 10% on a weekly basis. With regards to feeding them , what is your technique... I have the cyclopeeze granules and FD mysis I feed my fish, should I place some of these onto them with tweezers?? I 've read numerous target feeding approaches on here...