We’ve handled a lot of hammer corals over the years, both Branching and Walling, but this Yellow Mottled Aussie Ancora from Cairns Marine stands out for its color, mottling pattern, and its uniqueness.
“This one came in a few weeks ago on an unload from the Mackay Region about 60 kilometers off-shore,” Keegan Chan of Cairns Marine told Reef Builders. “We often get a lot of really nice Fimbriaphyllia from this region. We received 4 pieces in total, this was the largest of the group and has been kept at the Cairns Marine facility while the others have moved on to our clients. In my 6 years at Cairns Marine, I have never seen another Ancora like this one or even close to it in terms of rarity.”
True yellow coloration is rare in our aquarium corals. We ourselves have orange hammers, pink hammers, and “gold” hammers, although when we see “yellow” hammers they are usually laced with a lot of green and shot under blue light and through an orange lens. CM’s Fimbriaphyllia ancora is different not only because it displays solid yellow primary color on some of the tentacles, but also because of the complimentary mottling that ranges from a few speckles to almost solid black on those long, characteristic hammer tips. We asked when frags of what we are calling the Banana Hammer would be available:
“In terms of success with fragging corals, yes we do have success with our Fimbriaphyllia. This species handles being cut very well and often recovers quickly, however being such a special piece we want to make sure it’s well settled before we consider either propagation or selling to a client.”
