Choosing the right hammer coral food is crucial for your coral’s health. You need to ensure that your hammer coral is fed a diet rich in calcium, magnesium, Zooxanthellae, and other important nutrients. You should also make sure that your tank has an adequate amount of light and water flow. In addition, the temperature of your tank should be around 72-78 degrees Fahrenheit, or slightly warmer. Anything colder than this will be detrimental to your hammer coral.
Zooxanthellae
Zooxanthellae are an important source of nutrition for hammer corals. These organisms live in the coral tissue and feed on planktonic organisms and dissolved organic matter. While the hammer coral is mostly fed by smaller items, they are also known to consume whole fish. If you are keeping a hammer coral in captivity, you can give it supplemental food to ensure that it will stay healthy.
Hammer Corals are reef safe, and they are often kept with other coral species. Dwarf Angelfish, for example, can live with hammer corals and other reef-friendly fish. They eat algae and encrusting organisms and can be a great addition to your reef. However, keep in mind that the polyps of hammer corals are sensitive to other animals in the tank.
When choosing a hammer coral for your aquarium, make sure to choose one with a full extension. If it isn’t fully extended, it may be showing signs of distress. The polyps should be brightly colored and free of white or stringy mucus. Also, hammer corals can be aggressive to other corals, so you should avoid keeping them with fish that attack corals.
Calcium and magnesium
If you want to keep hammer corals healthy, you need to make sure that their food is high in calcium and magnesium. This is because they rely on symbiotic algae, known as zooxanthellae, for their nutrition. While they are not dependent on supplemental feeding, they do need some calcium and magnesium, especially if you don’t want them to suffer from copper poisoning. The calcium and magnesium they need can be found in coral reef supplements.
However, feeding hammer corals with large food can irritate them. The large pieces of food can’t be moved into their mouths quickly, which means they may think of the food as a predator. If this happens, your hammer coral will start extending its tentacles, which is not a good sign.
To prevent this problem, you should also make sure that your water is clean. Hammer corals require unpolluted water. It’s important to keep the nitrate level under 100 ppm. Higher levels of nitrate can lead to non-symbiotic algae forming on the hard coral’s skeleton, preventing it from growing properly. Adding a purification system can improve the water quality.
Meaty food
Hammer corals will feed on shrimp, bits of salmon, and whole silversides. They will also pick up bits and pieces of food that you leave in your tank, such as the remains of fish meals. The key is to give them just enough meaty food so that they grow and thrive. It is important to keep hammer corals happy and healthy by providing them with plenty of meaty food.
Feeding your hammer coral is simple. You can use a feeder designed for your other aquarium inhabitants. If you’re feeding your hammer coral with the right kind of food, you can see rapid growth and meatier flesh. You can also use brine or frozen mysis shrimp.
Hammer corals prefer water temperatures between 72 and 78 degrees Fahrenheit. They will not thrive in water that is too hot or too cold. In addition to the right temperature, you’ll want to keep water flow to a medium level.
