Branching Hammer Coral?

[sdellin]

I purchased this animal today. I was told by lfs that it is a branching hammer coral or Euphyllia Parancora.

I was reading up on it and supposedly it feeds on zooxanthallate, but that it needs meaty foods.

Is it a branching hammer coral? How do I feed it meaty foods? I have table shrimp that I feed sometimes, could I just put that on the end of a feeding stick and feed it like an anemone?

Also, the lfs told me to place it in a crevice or hole in the reef rock, but in my reading, I read it would do well in a deep sand bed. Should I just stick it down in the sand or is the crevice suggestion okay?

 

[Fluff]

It is a branching hammer. I keep mine in the rocks but the sandbed would be ok as well. You just want to be sure there isn't any other corals to close to it. They can really expand and reach out. As for feeding, I used to feed mine but no long bother to target feed. It catches what it can when I feed everything else. I feed cyclop-eeze and on occassion some mysid. I wouldn't even offer it anything larger than a mysid. The table shrimp would work to in small pieces.
Oh, and looking at your pic again, your mushrooms may be in danger that close. I had to move mine because it kept annoying a large fuzzy mushroom. It's constant "reaching" caused the mushroom to turn white on that edge.

 

[steve r]

those mushrooms will most likely get "stung" i also had to move some away. try not to place it anywhere that it will be blown into a rock either. the tissue is very soft and can easily be irritated by rubbing on rocks.

steve r

 

[sdellin]

Cindy and Steve, thanks a bunch. I moved the hammer to a location in the sand where it can't reach the mushrooms.

So glad you guys are observant! The lfs didn't tell me and the book I have just says they're aggressive, but doesn't mention that they reach out.

I just stuck the bottom of the branch in the sand and it seems to be doing fine so far.

 

[Fluff]

 

[Smo]

This branching hammer is attacking my cabbage leather. That sweeper is 4" long. Give it at least 6".