Mushroom killing hammer coral!

So I noticed my hammer wasn't opening up today. Soon to find the top of the coral has a red mushroom laying against it. I pulled it out if the LR and the polyps are hanging out of the skeleton about an inch worth. I tried to take a pic. What to do???

 

hmmm, not sure the cause is the mushroom, though it may "bother" your hammers extension. it looks awfully close to you glass as well that too could be a source of disturbance?

are your parameters in check? if the culprit really is the mushroom and his mesenterial filaments then you don't have much choice, either try to cut the base of the mushroom off and move him or move your hammer.

 

If the mushroom was laying on top of it, that absolutely was the problem. Mushrooms: the cockroach of the reef tank.

What's done is done in terms of the subsequent damage; there's not much you can do. An iodine dip to ward off any potential infection can be helpful, else you simply have to place it in an undisturbed area and hope it can recover.

 

I moved this coral to the current location, it was placed in a spot between LR I thought was free of red mushrooms. One was laying directly to the affected area of this hammer. It's continuing to lose polyps

 

I stand corrected I guess, I would have thought in a chemical warfare game between a mushroom and hammer the hammer would have won it easy.

 

Had the hammer stung the mushroom first with it's sweeper tentacles, then most likely, yes; however, the hammer's polyps are mostly harmless and defenseless.

NG- Injured corals are often susceptible to bleaching, so you might want to consider reducing the lighting for a few days or so to prevent further damage.

 

Good to know. I will check it out when I get home. It looked as to be losing polyps from the opposite side of the coral last night. I honestly thing the entire coral is a goner. Bums me out.

 

Not sure if it helps but looks liek you have a green wall hammer there. They are very fustrating and difficult to own. I bought a healthy looking colony and placed it into my reef awhile ago where I had a wall frgosapwn, a branching frogspawn, 2 branching hammers, and other lps/sps and the wall hammers tissue slwoly receded and after many months of adjusting placment for flow and lighting and a couple iodine dips it looks terrible and would get covered with cyano and no polyp extention. It took forever but it basically died and I tossed the little living tissue that remained

 

FWIW, I've heard of a few cases where, for whatever reason, a LPS receded, shrunk and disappeared. When the aquarist left the skeleton for tank deco, the coral reappeared months later and flourished better than ever.

Not to cause anyone to hold their breath (or kick themselves for tossing a 'dead' coral), but I wonder how much more frequently that might occur if everyone kept them. ;D

 

thats very interesting, I usually smell (as much as i fear what ill smell) the skeleton before tossing it, if it has a distinct rotting smell I toss it. I suppose you would not have any smelling factor information Mr. Bill.