Splatter Hammer [70]

Splatter Hammer Coral Care | The Happy Reef

Splatter Hammer is a colourful branching Hammer Coral named for the irregular splashes and streaks of contrasting colour scattered across its fleshy tentacles. Unlike a uniform Hammer morph, every polyp can develop a slightly different pattern, giving established colonies a particularly varied appearance.

The splatter pattern is pigmentation within the coral itself rather than a separate growth or surface marking, so new heads can develop their own individual distribution of colour as the colony grows. Hammer Corals were traditionally classified as Euphyllia, but branching Hammers are now placed within Fimbriaphyllia.

Scientific Name: Fimbriaphyllia paraancora (formerly Euphyllia paraancora)

PAR: 100?200

Flow: Moderate. Random, indirect flow that keeps the fleshy polyps gently swaying and fully extended is ideal.

Placement: Mid Third

Feeding: Beneficial but not essential. Hammer Corals are strongly photosynthetic but will also capture appropriately sized coral foods and small meaty foods. Occasional feeding can support faster growth and the development of additional heads.

Care Notes: Splatter Hammers become increasingly impressive as they branch and produce more heads, with the irregular patterning adding variation throughout the colony. Give them some space from unrelated neighbouring corals due to their sting. Stable alkalinity, calcium and magnesium, moderate lighting and varied flow provide excellent conditions for strong extension, colour and growth.