hammer arrived in bad shape, help please

rwb500 · 05/22/2012, 12:13 PM

I started a thread about this hammer coral because i was eager to receive it. and i will certainly update that thread once the coral is in a stable condition. but for now, take a look at it and tell me what to do! first pic is from the acclimation jar and the 2nd pic is where i placed it in the back corner of my tank, in a low light and low flow area.

tank lights didnt come on before i had to go to work. they will be on when i come home, i will post more pics.

SDguy · 05/22/2012, 12:26 PM

That's really bad. I'd say just hope for the best, but expect the worst. Also, I wouldn't put it in too low flow an area...don't want any decaying tissue to sit there...

wireefman · 05/22/2012, 12:42 PM

deff contact the vendor... is this the one that took 3 days or so to get to you? *i think you are the one who had that issue*

id put it in med flow like, sd said you dont want dead tissue sitting there... just give it lots of tlc.. ive seen worse comeback, but it will take gentile nurturing care

rwb500 · 05/22/2012, 12:52 PM

thank you both. yes i had a problem with the original shipment but this one is what i got when the seller re-shipped. this shipping went flawlessly. 16 hours in transit.

tonight i will move it around a bit to find a spot with good flow. should i do any dips? i have Revive coral dip and lugols. I did a quick revive dip before placing in the tank because i am scared of diseases. it made some pods jump out but i didnt see anything else.

SDguy · 05/22/2012, 01:05 PM

Oh...I thought this was the delayed one! Yikes!! Definitely contact the seller immediately.

Holsteiner · 05/22/2012, 01:36 PM

yeah, I would contact the seller as well...make sure it has some flow moving over top of it to keep the decay under control. When they get extremely stressed like during shipping it's normal for them to recede into the skeleton, but that one looks a little beyond that :-(

Cptn Spaulding · 05/22/2012, 01:37 PM

Definitely contact the seller with those pictures. That is unfortunate. It was such a cool looking piece too. If they don't help you out at all I suggest at the very least trying to get in contact with someone higher up in that retailer to yell at. 3 days in transit is too much for a piece like that. Were the heat packs even warm when you got it?

rwb500 · 05/22/2012, 01:55 PM

the seller is a very nice guy and it was not in transit for 3 days, please read my posts again. The seller has already shipped my entire order twice and thrown in some freebies as well. I realllllllly dont want to ask for my money back. I'm going to do anything I can to save this coral.

wireefman · 05/22/2012, 02:18 PM

irregardless if you want to or not... this is unacceptable..

revive may work however this this is stressed beyond belief and at this point may cause more harm than good, but still is worth doing...

contact the vendor, get your money back and move along to a new vendor

MBIETZ · 05/22/2012, 03:18 PM

Ya the vendor may be nice but thats not cool i would deffinetly let them know.

rwb500 · 05/22/2012, 06:05 PM

please, i'm not looking for advice on how to handle my business. just trying to save this coral. I've never had a hammer before so i could use all the help I can get.

picture taken tonight, coral moved into kind of low-medium flow.

you can see there is still dead tissue attached to the very edges of the skeleton. this means that prior to shipping this coral had no bare skeleton at all. bad news.

MBIETZ · 05/22/2012, 06:42 PM

There is a chance that it will live but i would say very unlikley low flow and low light will help. Here is a link to a thread about rescuing LPS corals hope it helps you out and good luck keep us posted.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1918483

rwb500 · 05/22/2012, 09:05 PM

great link, thanks. it seems like i should do a lugols dip.

i am beginning to realize that even if this coral doesn't die, it will not grow back to its old size for many months.

willietang021 · 05/22/2012, 10:14 PM

The very first pic you show, the hammer looks stress only, but the tissue are intact except for the center part where the two halves meet. Low flow, low to med light is where I will put it. IME, bring the hammer up, smell the whole thing. See if it smell fine or it stinks. The part that stink, that's the part where the tissue are dying. If you have a very sharp cutter or knife, cut the dead tissue off. I will even cut off just a little bit of the good tissue just to prevent it to die even further. Then dip it in coral dip for a good 10 mins. Again, put it at low flow, low to med light. I did that before with two of my injury hammer. They are 1/3 of what it was suppose to be in size, but at least I save them. It's doing to be the 7 months mark in June for this two pieces. Both are slowly growing back, but you can see the dead skeleton on the other side.

acro76 · 05/22/2012, 11:48 PM

That coral is dead, and was likely not doing well before shipping. Unfortunately, its been fragged in at least 2 places and probably did not get enough time to heal before a likely Ostreobium sp. algae invaded the skeleton.

rwb500 · 05/23/2012, 12:00 AM

its definitely not dead.... ?

rwb500 · 07/04/2012, 03:34 PM

well, heres some follow up photos. the coral is recovering well. one head died though. the last two pics are from when i moved into my new barebottom tank so please excuse the corals strewn about the bare plastic bottom. it is not permanent.

in the last picture you can really see the tiny little heads that grew out of seemingly nothing on the side of the skeleton. i think i will cut them out of there and watch them grow on frag plags. that would be fun.

also, im not going to update the thread i started about the coloration of this piece yet, because i hope it has not reached its full "healthy" coloration yet.

june 6th:

june 16th:

today (july 4):

G4546 · 07/04/2012, 04:30 PM

Glad to see it was cared for enough to survive with what was left! Congrats to you!

albano · 07/04/2012, 04:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by G4546

Glad to see it was cared for enough to survive with what was left! Congrats to you!

+1...but, personally, I will not buy wall hammers/torch/frogspawn...prefer branching, seem to do better, and easy to frag!

alford35 · 07/07/2012, 10:05 PM

Glad it made it.

I recieved one a little bigger yesterday that wasnt nearly as bad as yours but it was stressed from the heat from shipping. It is my first hammer as well and I have moved it from the bottom of my nuvo 16 with stock 12 watt LED lighting to the middle after 24 hours of barely any extension.

The flow is a little more direct in its new placement and it extended about twice as much as before agter only 20 or so minutes. Just trying to make sure I'm moving it to an optimal position to save it.. Here are pics of it after about 5 hours in the tank. It was much better looking than when it arrived. Will get a pic of it when lights come back on in the morning to show the improvement.

Sorry not trying to highjuck just want to make the right decision and hope since there are some followers in this thread I'll get quicker feedback than a new thread.

http://

rwb500 · 07/07/2012, 11:55 PM

no problem, im basically done with my question. you hammer actually looks spectacular compared to mine for the first couple weeks, or even now. just keep it somewhere where it looks happy (extensions but not overextension, as in, not enough light) and im sure it will be fine.

alford35 · 07/08/2012, 12:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rwb500

no problem, im basically done with my question. you hammer actually looks spectacular compared to mine for the first couple weeks, or even now. just keep it somewhere where it looks happy (extensions but not overextension, as in, not enough light) and im sure it will be fine.

Yeah much better than yours for sure.

What do you mean extensions but not over extension, as in not enough light?

Today it seems like the new placement isnt any different than the original. The extension is like .75cm or so. Yesterday after 20 minutes of being in new location the extension was about 1cm-1.25cm but now back to how it was before. The flow is barely moving it where it is at but when it was extending it was moving a little more (like barely swaying pretty constantly) and now just a little movement.

rwb500 · 07/08/2012, 01:06 PM

its hard to describe, just keep it somewhere where it looks happy. I dont really know what a hammer coral will look like with not enough light but I imagine it would look like it was "reaching." kind of like zoas and palys will stretch towards the light. just use common sense and im sure yours will do well. your picture looks pretty similar to a healthy coral thats just a little unhappy.

05/22/2012, 12:13 PM	#1
rwb500 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Baltimore, MD Posts: 789	hammer arrived in bad shape, help please I started a thread about this hammer coral because i was eager to receive it. and i will certainly update that thread once the coral is in a stable condition. but for now, take a look at it and tell me what to do! first pic is from the acclimation jar and the 2nd pic is where i placed it in the back corner of my tank, in a low light and low flow area. tank lights didnt come on before i had to go to work. they will be on when i come home, i will post more pics.

05/22/2012, 12:26 PM	#2
SDguy Fish heads unite! Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: San Diego Posts: 19,879	That's really bad. I'd say just hope for the best, but expect the worst. Also, I wouldn't put it in too low flow an area...don't want any decaying tissue to sit there... __________________ Peter SDMAS member Marine tanks since 1989. ><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><((((º> ·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·.. ><((((º> Current Tank Info: 150g crashed reef. 240g butterfly and angel FOWLR. 20g clarkii clown cube. 15g QT.

05/22/2012, 01:05 PM	#5
SDguy Fish heads unite! Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: San Diego Posts: 19,879	Oh...I thought this was the delayed one! Yikes!! Definitely contact the seller immediately. __________________ Peter SDMAS member Marine tanks since 1989. ><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><((((º> ·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·.. ><((((º> Current Tank Info: 150g crashed reef. 240g butterfly and angel FOWLR. 20g clarkii clown cube. 15g QT.

07/04/2012, 04:30 PM	#18
G4546 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Central, FL Posts: 390	Glad to see it was cared for enough to survive with what was left! Congrats to you! __________________ Blood is thicker than liquor, both of which get in my way.

05/22/2012, 12:42 PM	#3
wireefman reefin chef Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: minnesota Posts: 428	deff contact the vendor... is this the one that took 3 days or so to get to you? i think you are the one who had that issue id put it in med flow like, sd said you dont want dead tissue sitting there... just give it lots of tlc.. ive seen worse comeback, but it will take gentile nurturing care

05/22/2012, 12:52 PM	#4
rwb500 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Baltimore, MD Posts: 789	thank you both. yes i had a problem with the original shipment but this one is what i got when the seller re-shipped. this shipping went flawlessly. 16 hours in transit. tonight i will move it around a bit to find a spot with good flow. should i do any dips? i have Revive coral dip and lugols. I did a quick revive dip before placing in the tank because i am scared of diseases. it made some pods jump out but i didnt see anything else.

05/22/2012, 01:36 PM	#6
Holsteiner Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Hershey, PA Posts: 201	yeah, I would contact the seller as well...make sure it has some flow moving over top of it to keep the decay under control. When they get extremely stressed like during shipping it's normal for them to recede into the skeleton, but that one looks a little beyond that :-(

05/22/2012, 01:37 PM	#7
Cptn Spaulding Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Rochester, NY Posts: 598	Definitely contact the seller with those pictures. That is unfortunate. It was such a cool looking piece too. If they don't help you out at all I suggest at the very least trying to get in contact with someone higher up in that retailer to yell at. 3 days in transit is too much for a piece like that. Were the heat packs even warm when you got it?

05/22/2012, 01:55 PM	#8
rwb500 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Baltimore, MD Posts: 789	the seller is a very nice guy and it was not in transit for 3 days, please read my posts again. The seller has already shipped my entire order twice and thrown in some freebies as well. I realllllllly dont want to ask for my money back. I'm going to do anything I can to save this coral.

05/22/2012, 02:18 PM	#9
wireefman reefin chef Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: minnesota Posts: 428	irregardless if you want to or not... this is unacceptable.. revive may work however this this is stressed beyond belief and at this point may cause more harm than good, but still is worth doing... contact the vendor, get your money back and move along to a new vendor

05/22/2012, 03:18 PM	#10
MBIETZ Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Chico CA Posts: 395	Ya the vendor may be nice but thats not cool i would deffinetly let them know.

05/22/2012, 06:05 PM	#11
rwb500 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Baltimore, MD Posts: 789	please, i'm not looking for advice on how to handle my business. just trying to save this coral. I've never had a hammer before so i could use all the help I can get. picture taken tonight, coral moved into kind of low-medium flow. you can see there is still dead tissue attached to the very edges of the skeleton. this means that prior to shipping this coral had no bare skeleton at all. bad news.

05/22/2012, 06:42 PM	#12
MBIETZ Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Chico CA Posts: 395	There is a chance that it will live but i would say very unlikley low flow and low light will help. Here is a link to a thread about rescuing LPS corals hope it helps you out and good luck keep us posted. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1918483

05/22/2012, 09:05 PM	#13
rwb500 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Baltimore, MD Posts: 789	great link, thanks. it seems like i should do a lugols dip. i am beginning to realize that even if this coral doesn't die, it will not grow back to its old size for many months.

05/22/2012, 10:14 PM	#14
willietang021 Registered Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: Newhall, CA Posts: 193	The very first pic you show, the hammer looks stress only, but the tissue are intact except for the center part where the two halves meet. Low flow, low to med light is where I will put it. IME, bring the hammer up, smell the whole thing. See if it smell fine or it stinks. The part that stink, that's the part where the tissue are dying. If you have a very sharp cutter or knife, cut the dead tissue off. I will even cut off just a little bit of the good tissue just to prevent it to die even further. Then dip it in coral dip for a good 10 mins. Again, put it at low flow, low to med light. I did that before with two of my injury hammer. They are 1/3 of what it was suppose to be in size, but at least I save them. It's doing to be the 7 months mark in June for this two pieces. Both are slowly growing back, but you can see the dead skeleton on the other side.

05/22/2012, 11:48 PM	#15
acro76 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: SE Michigan Posts: 341	That coral is dead, and was likely not doing well before shipping. Unfortunately, its been fragged in at least 2 places and probably did not get enough time to heal before a likely Ostreobium sp. algae invaded the skeleton.

05/23/2012, 12:00 AM	#16
rwb500 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Baltimore, MD Posts: 789	its definitely not dead.... ?

07/04/2012, 03:34 PM	#17
rwb500 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Baltimore, MD Posts: 789	well, heres some follow up photos. the coral is recovering well. one head died though. the last two pics are from when i moved into my new barebottom tank so please excuse the corals strewn about the bare plastic bottom. it is not permanent. in the last picture you can really see the tiny little heads that grew out of seemingly nothing on the side of the skeleton. i think i will cut them out of there and watch them grow on frag plags. that would be fun. also, im not going to update the thread i started about the coloration of this piece yet, because i hope it has not reached its full "healthy" coloration yet. june 6th: june 16th: today (july 4):

07/07/2012, 10:05 PM	#20
alford35 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 168	Glad it made it. I recieved one a little bigger yesterday that wasnt nearly as bad as yours but it was stressed from the heat from shipping. It is my first hammer as well and I have moved it from the bottom of my nuvo 16 with stock 12 watt LED lighting to the middle after 24 hours of barely any extension. The flow is a little more direct in its new placement and it extended about twice as much as before agter only 20 or so minutes. Just trying to make sure I'm moving it to an optimal position to save it.. Here are pics of it after about 5 hours in the tank. It was much better looking than when it arrived. Will get a pic of it when lights come back on in the morning to show the improvement. Sorry not trying to highjuck just want to make the right decision and hope since there are some followers in this thread I'll get quicker feedback than a new thread. http://

07/07/2012, 11:55 PM	#21
rwb500 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Baltimore, MD Posts: 789	no problem, im basically done with my question. you hammer actually looks spectacular compared to mine for the first couple weeks, or even now. just keep it somewhere where it looks happy (extensions but not overextension, as in, not enough light) and im sure it will be fine.

07/08/2012, 01:06 PM	#23
rwb500 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Baltimore, MD Posts: 789	its hard to describe, just keep it somewhere where it looks happy. I dont really know what a hammer coral will look like with not enough light but I imagine it would look like it was "reaching." kind of like zoas and palys will stretch towards the light. just use common sense and im sure yours will do well. your picture looks pretty similar to a healthy coral thats just a little unhappy.