Wall hammer coral spawning habits

[rusticfox9]

Fragged my aussie orange wall hammer a few weeks back and I'm seeing what looks like tiny orange hammer heads in some of the liverock crevices. Same color and polyps as the parent, just smaller - about the size of a pencil eraser. Had some acros and leather spawn before, but never heard of a hammer doing this - anyone else had this happen?

[felinxo]

Got any pics of these little hammer heads? Fragged the wall, huh? I'm pretty sure what you're seeing is just dead polyps from where you cut through. Wouldn't surprise me if you lost all the frags and the main colony, tbh. Good luck, you're gonna need it.

[rusticfox9]

I fragged it over a month ago and I've been noticing the little heads with individual tentacles popping up, just like the babies on my other hammers. They've been showing up all over the tank for about two weeks now, so I'm pretty sure they're not dead polyps. I'll try to get some pics, but they're super small. How long does it usually take for your walls to, well, kick it after fragging?

[rusticfox9]

Got a pic, finally. Still tiny, but you can see the individual tentacles and all. Growing pretty steadily too.

[dreamon7]

No way, those are definitely baby Euphyllia. Awesome, congrats on the new additions. Can't wait to see them grow, sign me up for a frag when they're a bit bigger. For now, keep feeding them.

[rusticfox9]

No way, those are definitely baby Euphyllia. Awesome, congrats on the new additions. Can't wait to see them grow, sign me up for a frag when they're a bit bigger. For now, keep feeding them.

Thanks, I'll keep feeding them and hope they thrive. The one in the pic is growing, second set of tentacles coming in now. High flow and high light seem to be working for them.

[dreamon7]

I'm rooting for these little guys to thrive. A diet rich in nutrient-dense foods like ROE will definitely give them a boost. As long as your parameters remain stable, I'm confident they'll be incredibly resilient, especially since they're essentially being aquacultured.

Is this Euphyllia ancora or parancora? I'm going to take a guess and say ancora, based on your initial post. Any updates or new pictures you can share?

I've got to respectfully disagree with some of the opinions floating around this thread - Wall Hammers can be just as hardy as their branching counterparts, provided they're handled with care and properly acclimated. The key is sourcing them from a trustworthy vendor and transporting them gently. A nutritious diet certainly doesn't hurt either.

[felinxo]

No way, those are definitely baby Euphyllia. Awesome, congrats on the new additions. Can't wait to see them grow, sign me up for a frag when they're a bit bigger. For now, keep feeding them.

Your LFS isn't involved in the transport of these animals, they're just stacked in bins that sit out in the hot sun for hours. And, I've yet to come across any aquacultured ancora, so if these little ones are indeed babies, I'm guessing they'd be parancora.

[rusticfox9]

I'm pretty sure my wall hammer had a first class canoe ride. It's an ancora, and it loves the high light and flow - the babies are popping up all over near my acros. I'll try and get some better pics soon.

[vortex9]

I'm really looking forward to seeing some more pics of those adorable little hammer heads. One thing that might help with the photography is adjusting the white balance on your camera settings. If you've got a smartphone, try switching it to cloudy - it usually makes a big difference in capturing the colors and details of your tank inhabitants.