Wall Hammer Coral (Fimbriaphyllia ancora)
Looking for an absolute showstopper centerpiece for your LPS collection? The Wall Hammer Coral brings mesmerizing, sweeping movement and vibrant, glowing colour to any reef tank.
Unlike branching hammers that grow individual heads on separate stalks, the Wall Hammer grows from one continuous, meandering skeletal base (a "wall"). This creates a massive, dense ribbon of fleshy, anchor-shaped tentacles that beautifully sway together in the current. Available in stunning toxic greens, deep purples, and even rare golds, they glow spectacularly under blue actinic lighting.
At UKReef Hampshire, we love Wall Hammers because they look incredible as a standalone centerpiece on the sandbed or a lower rock shelf.
Quick Care Guide:
Care Level: Moderate. Because it is a continuous piece of tissue over a solid skeleton, it requires stable water parameters (Calcium, Alkalinity, and Magnesium) and careful handling to prevent tissue damage.
Temperament: Aggressive. Hammer corals possess long "sweeper tentacles" that can extend several inches past their normal size at night to sting neighboring corals. You must give them plenty of personal space!
Placement: Bottom to Middle. They look fantastic placed directly on the sandbed or nestled securely into lower rockwork where they have room to expand.
Lighting: Moderate. They do best under medium lighting. If the light is too intense, they will shrink back; if it is too low, they will lose their bright colours and the tissue may start to recede.
Water Flow: Low to Moderate (Indirect). ⚠️ Important: The flow must be gentle and randomized. If you blast a Wall Hammer with strong, direct flow, the sharp skeleton underneath can easily tear its delicate fleshy tissue, which can lead to infections like Brown Jelly Disease. We want a gentle sway, not a hurricane!
Feeding: Fully photosynthetic. However, as a large-polyp stony (LPS) coral, it will heavily reward you for target feeding! A couple of times a week, gently turn off your flow and feed them meaty foods like Mysis shrimp, Calanus, or specialized LPS pellets. You will see incredible growth and polyp extension.