Hammer coral looking terrible/dying

[DAY1995]

Hey guys.

 

My hammer has been looking pretty rough for the past week. I've tried moving it to different spots in the tank with different lighting/flow and so far no improvement. Can this coral even be saved? Is there anything else I could do to help it? I'm not too certain what to do with a dying coral. I'm fairly new to keeping corals so any help would be appreciated..

Sorry for the blurry pic!

[burtbollinger]

What is your alkalinity?  This is key.

 

it could look worse...relax.

 

placement on the bottom is good for now, ensure low/moderate flow...stop moving it around, btw.

[mtmurphy85]

It also could be your nitrates and phosphates are too low, I had issues with mine because my water was too clean, once my phosphates and nitrates where slightly elevated it bounced back and looks better than ever 

[DAY1995]

My kh is about 7. 

Sounds good I'll keep it on the bottom and hope for the best. I'll also stop moving it

[DAY1995]

6 minutes ago, mtmurphy85 said:

It also could be your nitrates and phosphates are too low, I had issues with mine because my water was too clean, once my phosphates and nitrates where slightly elevated it bounced back and looks better than ever 

Really? That's interesting! Last time I checked my nitrates they were less than 5ppm. I do weekly 2-4 gal water changes on my 29 biocube. I also have a low bioload  (2 clowns and a cardinal)

[Clown79]

Could be alk swings, that irritates the crap out of Lps  and sps. 

 

What's your alk at after a waterchange?

 

7 is right on the border.

 

Could be low nutrients. They need some nutrients. Around 5 is good.

 

Try feeding it food like mysis or pellets. Turn water movement off when feeding.

 

How long have you had it?

 

I would  not move it around any more. 

[DAY1995]

7 minutes ago, Clown79 said:

Could be alk swings, that irritates the crap out of Lps  and sps. 

 

What's your alk at after a waterchange?

 

7 is right on the border.

 

Could be low nutrients. They need some nutrients. Around 5 is good.

 

Try feeding it food like mysis or pellets. Turn water movement off when feeding.

 

How long have you had it?

 

I would  not move it around any more. 

I gotta be honest I hardly check my alkalinity.. it was 7 before my water change today.

If low nutrients, how do I raise it? Skip a week of water changes?

 

I've had it for about 2 and half months. To me, it never looked GREAT but it did look fairly heathly until this week. I'll try dropping mysis on it tomorrow. Thanks!

[Clown79]

All is extremely important for corals and inverts.

Depending on how many corals you have your alk may have swings.

 

To determine that, daily testing from waterchange day and every day after for a week.

 

Skipping waterchanges isn't advised. Feeding corals food will help the coral and nutrient levels

[Pjanssen]

Agreed that you need to get a handle on your Alkalinity. 7 dKH is pretty low, but if i's stable then that's better than up and down swings. Euphilia (your hammer) are especially sensitive to alk swings. Also, what is your top off routine? Salinity stability is just as important as alkalinity. Temperature comes next. Feeding your hammer may help.

[uwdanno]

Never fight more than one issue at a time. Your issue here is stability. Worry about raising the dkh later 

 

7dkh isn't bad. I've run my tank a lower than that for months on end and had perfectly happy SPS and LPS.

 

Like the others said, consistency is everything. Priority #1 is to get it stable. I wouldn't rush to try to raise the dkh. 

[I'm Batman]

On 8/10/2017 at 0:24 AM, burtbollinger said:

What is your alkalinity?  This is key.

 

it could look worse...relax.

 

placement on the bottom is good for now, ensure low/moderate flow...stop moving it around, btw.

Burt any particular reason for the low/moderate flow?

 

Oh and +10 for the "stop moving it around!" ?

[DAY1995]

21 hours ago, Clown79 said:

All is extremely important for corals and inverts.

Depending on how many corals you have your alk may have swings.

 

To determine that, daily testing from waterchange day and every day after for a week.

 

Skipping waterchanges isn't advised. Feeding corals food will help the coral and nutrient levels

I have only 3 frags in my tank, but I agree I should monitor my alk. more closely! I will begin testing and hopefully find out if that's the culprit.

17 hours ago, Pjanssen said:

Agreed that you need to get a handle on your Alkalinity. 7 dKH is pretty low, but if i's stable then that's better than up and down swings. Euphilia (your hammer) are especially sensitive to alk swings. Also, what is your top off routine? Salinity stability is just as important as alkalinity. Temperature comes next. Feeding your hammer may help.

I manually top off about usually twice a week. I have my water level marked on my bicube with a marker and top off as needed. My salanity constantly stays at 1.025 SOMETIMES 1.026. Temperature is maybe a tad too high at 81 however, that is also constant.

[I'm Batman]

And of course it's RO water you're topping off with?

 

I will tell you, that frogspawn is far from gone and has 100% opportunity for a full recovery.

 

You just have to offer that little guy the chance to strive and he'll gladly take it!!

 

Use what you learned here to have a massive and flourishing frogspawn!!!

[Clown79]

7dkh isn't low. It's on the border.

 

Stability is key. I doubt with 3 frags you're having a lot of consumption.

 

Even temp at 81 isn't bad if it's not jumping All over the place.

 

I'd keep it in a moderate flow/ light area and feed it. 

 

Test your newly made salt water, test tank after water change to see what your ca and alk are starting at

[I'm Batman]

On 8/10/2017 at 1:03 AM, DAY1995 said:

Last time I checked my nitrates they were less than 5ppm

Does anybody know what nitrate level is ideal for a "standard" frogspawn?

[Clown79]

There is no standard really. You just want to ensure the tank has nutrients.

 

Mine sit at 5 after 10 I've had issues with algae breakouts.

[burtbollinger]

9 hours ago, I'm Batman said:

Burt any particular reason for the low/moderate flow?

 

Oh and +10 for the "stop moving it around!" ?

yeah, they don't like high, rip-a$$ flow, IME.  I cringe when I see these corals getting blasted.

 

i figure low up to moderate is a decent and wide enough range to shoot for, and leaves plenty of room for interpretation.

 

mine have always done best with a moderate, gentle sway.

 

 

[I'm Batman]

5 hours ago, burtbollinger said:

 

i figure low up to moderate is a decent and wide enough range to shoot for, and leaves plenty of room for interpretation.

I have a Gyre in my 20 and on the lowest setting it's pretty turbulent. Everything seems pretty happy and I have my rocks set so they disperse the turbulence but I've been keeping it off and turn it on for about 2 hours a day because there's so much detritus that settles on the rocks, it's almost imperative to have that good blasting flow... still experimenting with it. 

[Flexin]

I may have missed this, but what else isin the tank?  What other corals, inverts, fish, etc?  I had a toadstool that would shed, and if another coral had bad luck of having it land home, I would have problems.

 

Also, a harder pill to swallow, there are some corals that will do well in your tank an others that won't.  Give it time,  measure and your parameters, get a reef testing kit if you don't already have one.  When there is a problem, I think it's a good idea to measure and track often.  If it's not water parameters or nutrition, then you can rule them out over time.

[burtbollinger]

1 hour ago, I'm Batman said:

I have a Gyre in my 20 and on the lowest setting it's pretty turbulent. Everything seems pretty happy and I have my rocks set so they disperse the turbulence but I've been keeping it off and turn it on for about 2 hours a day because there's so much detritus that settles on the rocks, it's almost imperative to have that good blasting flow... still experimenting with it. 

A part of me believes the downfall of my old LPS dominant tank all began with a 10-15 second accidental blast from an MP10 cranked too high.  Micro tears can doom a coral.

 

Do be careful experimenting.  

 

IME, Careful use of a baster would be preferred to full-on chaotic flow from an oversized gyre ripping at LPS...specifically frogspawn, torch or branching hammer.

 

 

[Lula_Mae]

21 hours ago, I'm Batman said:

Burt any particular reason for the low/moderate flow?

 

Oh and +10 for the "stop moving it around!" ?

Low-moderate flow can also give the coral time to recover and heal from whatever's stressing it.  And yes to whoever said euphyllia don't need super blasting flow as it can tear them from the skeleton.

 

6 hours ago, Flexin said:

I may have missed this, but what else isin the tank?  What other corals, inverts, fish, etc?  I had a toadstool that would shed, and if another coral had bad luck of having it land home, I would have problems.

 

Also, a harder pill to swallow, there are some corals that will do well in your tank an others that won't.  Give it time,  measure and your parameters, get a reef testing kit if you don't already have one.  When there is a problem, I think it's a good idea to measure and track often.  If it's not water parameters or nutrition, then you can rule them out over time.

This, or corals that will do well for you and others that won't.  For years I thought I couldn't keep zoas alive.  The ones I've got now are the longest surviving ones I've ever had lol.

[Clown79]

Lps hates blasting flow. 

They should sway.

 

Too much flow either closes them up or tears them.