Hammer Parasite

oscarmeir · 09/30/2013, 05:48 AM

If there is one thing I learned in this hobby its never to assume anything!
I picked up what i thought was a healthy hammer specimen, and a few days later I noticed that one, everything was retracted, but I chalked that up to acclimation, however its been a few weeks and quite frankly they look terrible.

I did have a bit of a Nitrate spike due to my filter fiasco but I've removed one of the canisters and replaced the second one with only mechanical media, and did a 30% water change. Nitrates seem to be going down.

However last night I was looking into the tank with a flashlight and there was a "fan worm" or something poking out of what i thought was just a bump in the coral where two heads meet. He zipped in when i shined the light of him.

The other heads are starting to come back to life but that head looks nasty. Is there a dip recommended for such a pest.

I hope to go to the store today to get a marine test kit, as I have never measured calcium magnesium or alkalinity. My only hope is that as I have been doing weekly changes of 10-20% with Royal Nature reef salt with that stuff added I hoped that there would some healthy levels of said levels.

I'm attaching some pics of the Hammer. Do I dip? Seal the whole? Cut off the head?

dkeller_nc · 09/30/2013, 06:52 AM

It looks like you've a flatworm. There are a lot of species of flatworm, so it's hard to know if this particular one is an obligate coral carnivore. But most of the big ones are (carnivorous), so get rid of it.

You can try dipping just the coral itself in Coral Rx or Revive. Or you can treat the whole tank with Salifert's Flatworm Exit. If it were my hammer, I'd just siphon the big one out and watch it closely to ensure that was the only one.

oscarmeir · 09/30/2013, 07:20 AM

How do i go about siphoning? I have a syringe with a airtube that i use for spot feeding, do i just suck it out?

oscarmeir · 09/30/2013, 07:21 AM

Would a flatworm be affecting the general health of the coral, i.e. the reason why its not fully extended?

dkeller_nc · 09/30/2013, 12:28 PM

Yes to both questions. You do need a general siphon for water changes, though. The best one is a 8' long piece of 1/2" silicone hose. Silicone will last forever (literally) and won't collapse like vinyl tubing. You can get some from a lot of sources - one is Bulk Reef Supply.

jamesbaur13 · 09/30/2013, 04:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oscarmeir

However last night I was looking into the tank with a flashlight and there was a "fan worm" or something poking out of what i thought was just a bump in the coral where two heads meet. He zipped in when i shined the light of him.

Is that the lump the "fan worm" was coming out of pictured in this pic... the golden brown thing?

It could be a fan worm or barnacle irritating the coral. I would find the hole the worm was coming out of and inject it with superglue or plug it with reef safe epoxy.

Dipping might only stress it more, but if plugging the hole doesn't help it'd be the next thing I'd try.

I wouldn't do a flatworm treatment for this one small area... that could cause other issues.

supra400hptt · 09/30/2013, 10:51 PM

Looks like a barnacle to me, but my guess is that it's not the problem. Every head looks like it has problems. Low alkalinity and swinging alkalinity took out my hammer before I got a grasp on things. Ended up going to dosing and everything is doing better. My hammers have seemed as sensitive as sps. On a side note, I dip everything in Bayer insecticide now.

Calappidae · 09/30/2013, 10:55 PM

Get tweezers.. pick it up.. get rid of it... and hope there are no more. Not sure myself what it is but if you don't want it then just say goodbye to it.

oscarmeir · 10/01/2013, 05:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dkeller_nc

Yes to both questions. You do need a general siphon for water changes, though. The best one is a 8' long piece of 1/2" silicone hose. Silicone will last forever (literally) and won't collapse like vinyl tubing. You can get some from a lot of sources - one is Bulk Reef Supply.

Oh, yes I have one of those, not that fresh to the fish-keeping hobby, I didn't think you meant to use the big tube to suck out a tiny hole.

09/30/2013, 05:48 AM	#1
oscarmeir Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 114	Hammer Parasite If there is one thing I learned in this hobby its never to assume anything! I picked up what i thought was a healthy hammer specimen, and a few days later I noticed that one, everything was retracted, but I chalked that up to acclimation, however its been a few weeks and quite frankly they look terrible. I did have a bit of a Nitrate spike due to my filter fiasco but I've removed one of the canisters and replaced the second one with only mechanical media, and did a 30% water change. Nitrates seem to be going down. However last night I was looking into the tank with a flashlight and there was a "fan worm" or something poking out of what i thought was just a bump in the coral where two heads meet. He zipped in when i shined the light of him. The other heads are starting to come back to life but that head looks nasty. Is there a dip recommended for such a pest. I hope to go to the store today to get a marine test kit, as I have never measured calcium magnesium or alkalinity. My only hope is that as I have been doing weekly changes of 10-20% with Royal Nature reef salt with that stuff added I hoped that there would some healthy levels of said levels. I'm attaching some pics of the Hammer. Do I dip? Seal the whole? Cut off the head?

09/30/2013, 10:55 PM	#8
Calappidae Harlequin Shrimp Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: Somewhere Posts: 3,814	Get tweezers.. pick it up.. get rid of it... and hope there are no more. Not sure myself what it is but if you don't want it then just say goodbye to it. __________________ Joe

09/30/2013, 06:52 AM	#2
dkeller_nc Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Central NC Posts: 5,062	It looks like you've a flatworm. There are a lot of species of flatworm, so it's hard to know if this particular one is an obligate coral carnivore. But most of the big ones are (carnivorous), so get rid of it. You can try dipping just the coral itself in Coral Rx or Revive. Or you can treat the whole tank with Salifert's Flatworm Exit. If it were my hammer, I'd just siphon the big one out and watch it closely to ensure that was the only one.

09/30/2013, 07:20 AM	#3
oscarmeir Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 114	How do i go about siphoning? I have a syringe with a airtube that i use for spot feeding, do i just suck it out?

09/30/2013, 07:21 AM	#4
oscarmeir Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 114	Would a flatworm be affecting the general health of the coral, i.e. the reason why its not fully extended?

09/30/2013, 12:28 PM	#5
dkeller_nc Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Central NC Posts: 5,062	Yes to both questions. You do need a general siphon for water changes, though. The best one is a 8' long piece of 1/2" silicone hose. Silicone will last forever (literally) and won't collapse like vinyl tubing. You can get some from a lot of sources - one is Bulk Reef Supply.

09/30/2013, 10:51 PM	#7
supra400hptt Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 295	Looks like a barnacle to me, but my guess is that it's not the problem. Every head looks like it has problems. Low alkalinity and swinging alkalinity took out my hammer before I got a grasp on things. Ended up going to dosing and everything is doing better. My hammers have seemed as sensitive as sps. On a side note, I dip everything in Bayer insecticide now.