How to Ship Hammer Coral

Hammer coral is a beautiful, but aggressive coral. The hammer coral has long, slender tentacles that will reach out and sting neighboring corals, often at night. Hammer corals have colorful, hammer shaped polyps that extend during the day. The polyps are usually brown, tan or green and have fluorescent yellow or green tips. Hammer coral is not an easy coral to transport; it often becomes damaged during shipping. The hard exoskeleton can easily pierce a bag, causing it to leak.

Things You'll Need

  • Styrofoam box
  • Ice pack
  • Heat pack
  • Shipping box
  • Extra thick shipping bag
Show More

Instructions

    • 1

      Purchase or ask the local fish store for a Styrofoam box, and extra thick coral shipping bags. A Styrofoam box will keep the water in the bag at the right temperature. Use only extra thick packing bags.

    • 2

      Place the hammer coral fragment in the bag with water from the aquarium. Fill the bag with air and tie the top tightly.

    • 3

      Arrange the packed coral in the Styrofoam box. Depending on the season, a heat pack or ice pack may be needed to support the right temperature of the water.

    • 4

      Fill in the excess space between the box and the packed corals. Use newspaper, bubble packing, or filler to protect the coral bags from sliding around, or tipping over.

    • 5

      Place the coral in a shipping box. Make sure to indicate on the outside of the box; "Keep This Side Up." Seal the box with packing tape.

    • 6

      Ship the coral next day air, or same day courier. The faster the shipping, the less stress and heat loss there will be.