Coral propagation question

[ambulocetus]

I have a hammer coral that I would really like to see grow, however the frag i bought is shaped like a Y, with two colonies on either of the top two points (the bottom point of the Y is in the dsb). They have run out of room on these tips (about the size of a quarter when they go in) and i would like to know the best way to get them to spread? Should i touch the base of the colonies up against a piece of rock, to encourage them to grow onto it? (Works for my xenia, but it is like a weed! )
Any thoughts or suggestions would be really welcome!
Also, all pictures i see of hammers have pinkish stalks, and greenish hammer tips, mine is the complete reverse, with pinkish hammer tips, is this just diversity, or am I doing something wrong?

Thank you all!

 

[steve-s]

With a branching hammer (Euphyllia parancora) you will have little success if any getting it to spread to rock simpley by touching. Alternately as the coral gains in size it will begin to grow new "buds" in the lower areas of the stalk where the flesh of the crown and the main body of the skelaton meet.

As the buds get larger or the parent coral itself, you will be able to break off/spit the coral into seperate colonies. The coral should be split at the bottom of a "Y" formation and several inches down from the crown. Once some of the smaller buds become large enough, they can also be snipped off and attached with epoxy or super glue gel.

As far as the color, it's most likely just a morph and nothing to be concerned about. Your sure it's not a Euphyllia paradavisa?

Cheers
Steve