We've got a hammer down..!

I was cleaning my tank, a rock tumbled and smashed my new golf ball sized hammer coral. It appears half of the soft portion has been smashed and stringy insides leaked out... I'm such an idiot. Is it likely a goner or should I count on it just growing from about 1/2 the size from now on?

 

I would move it into a slighty gentler area of flow, so it won't tear worse...... it may come bac, it may not. You should be able to tell within a few days if its going to make it or not.

Did it have more than one branch/head?

 

It was splitting into two branches. Each very small branch is half gone, on the rear end of the frag.

 

Hmm.. well get it slightly sheltered from the current and it should start healing up, they are pretty tough corals IME

How bad is it smashed?? Can you post pics?

 

A Branching Hammer can be cut in order to propagate, but its usually done with a saw so that the skeleton is not splintered. It depends on the damage done to the skeleton – I agree, please post a picture.

Aside from survival opinions (you will get the good old 50/50 I am certain of it). keep an eye on the coral, if it begins to go south its time to pull the plug -- you will know when this coral is at the point of no return. At which time pull it before it pollutes your column. Sorry to hear about this. Good luck.

 

I'm an idiot and can't find my memory card... Until, I can run to the store and grab another...

It appears a little > 30% of the tentacles have "burst and retracted. What is left are small tighyly squeezed hammer tentacles with a bright green tips. Almost as if their contents have been consolodated? The rest seems to be doing okay and has since re-inflated.

It is my understanding that corals are essentially communities of individual mutualistic organisms. With that said, couldn't one assume the remaining tentacles and organisms that they are comprised of be fine as if nothing happened? Though I assume the growth will obviously be slowed (by roughly 30+%)?

 

Yup....you're spot on. Now just keep a positive outlook and a watchful eye.

 

Great advise Crimson..... and good juckwith the recovery Djoe, keep us posted buddy

 

My frogspawn got knocked against the glass inadvertantly and had a good tear in it......by good tear I mean about an inch long and hanging meatiness. I moved it to a low flow corner of the tank, on the bottom so that it would heal itself. It's perfectly healed now and even more pretty than before!

 

Most likely it will be OK, just move it out of direct flow....they are stronger than we think. My clowns were tearing up one of my frogspawns that had about 25-30 heads, I thought it was going to die. I got an anemone, once the clowns moved, within a ew weeks the frogspawn opened fuller than before.