Hammer coral frag breakage

[Kalixar]

This frag was marketed online as a branching orange hammer, but it arrived looking like this.

Honestly, what's the prognosis for this frag? And does that resemble a branching hammer to anyone else? To me, it looks more like a wall. The seller claims it's a branching that's splitting.

Seller seems to think the frag is fine, but I'm not convinced. Any advice would be appreciated.

[talonix]

I agree, it looks more like a wall to me as well. The condition it's in doesn't seem typical for a branching hammer, but rather a wall hammer. The fragmentation process for a wall hammer often results in that appearance, which makes me question the seller's claim.

I've had my fair share of disappointing online purchases, and this experience is a prime example of why I'm cautious when buying corals online. You never really know what you're getting until it arrives.

Hopefully, you'll be able to return it or get a partial refund. I wish you the best of luck in resolving this issue. By the way, I do hope you didn't purchase it from Reefs2go - their customer service is notoriously unresponsive.

[felinxo]

I agree, it looks more like a wall to me as well. The condition it's in doesn't seem typical for a branching hammer, but rather a wall hammer. The fragmentation process for a wall hammer often results in that appearance, which makes me question the seller's claim.

I've had my fair share of disappointing online purchases, and this experience is a prime example of why I'm cautious when buying corals online. You never really know what you're getting until it arrives.

Hopefully, you'll be able to return it or get a partial refund. I wish you the best of luck in resolving this issue. By the way, I do hope you didn't purchase it from Reefs2go - their customer service is notoriously unresponsive.

Don't generalize about buying corals online. I've had good experiences with reputable sellers who offer WYSIWYG.

As for this frag, it's possible the two branching heads split in the middle, giving it a wall-like appearance. Just get it mounted and give it time. Coral can be pretty resilient, so it might just bounce back.

[waver]

I've had a similar experience with a crushed frogspawn, and it's made a full recovery. I wouldn't stress too much about it, coral's pretty resilient.

[oceanflow_9]

I had a similar experience with my frogspawn, I fragged it and ended up cutting too close to another stock, it broke the stock in half and I was left with 6 tiny frags. But they all survived and started growing into new colonies. I think waver and felinxo are right, just leave it be and it should come back fine.

[Kalixar]

Thanks everyone, I appreciate the feedback.

[fleeton]

My yellow branching hammer started out similar to yours, more like a mini wall hammer, but it's now starting to branch out. Had a cut mark from fragging, probably cut close to another branch. No broken parts, but it's thriving in my tank.