wall hammer coral
 

Hi,
I got a wall hammer coral last week and it is receding from 2 ends.
Would it continue to die off? What should I do about it? Should I frag the dead part off? How would one frag a wall hammer? It's not like the branching type that can just cut the head off.
Any advise is appreciated.

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/v...9/P5080045.jpg

From the picture it doesn't look like an infection but just straight recesion which makes me think water conditions. I'd check all water paramaters first (Ph, Kh, cal, mag, ammonia, nitrite/nitrate, phosphate). Make sure they are within range and post if possible. It is hard to try to diagnose a problem without knowing them. Check for brown jelly or white goo around the areas of recesion. This would indicate infection. You could try an iodine disinfecting dip. Is anything picking on it or is there something close that could be stinging it. Fragging a wall hammer is difficult and would overly stress an already weakened coral.

I would put it in a low flow, low light area temporarily until it heals. This is what I do with all LPS that are struggling.

I think my alk is a bit on the low side.
I'll get other params checked out.
If it recedes more, I'll move it to lower part of the tank.
Thanks for the advise.

When you check your paramiters please post the results. Letting us know placement, flow, and lighting would also help. Could be the lighting. Are you running halides and if so did you acclimate the coral to the light. You could be 'frying' it if placed directly under a halide. If its a newly imported coral make sure you place it low and in indirect light and gradually move it to brighter light over time.