How do Favia grow?

[PotatoPig]

I have a little Yellow Submarine Favia. It’s three polyps, and generally seems happy - puffed up, bright colors, etc, and the polyps have grown in size.

OTOH - it’s been a few months and no new polyps, so was curious how they add them. Do they split or bud?

 

[eliaslikesfish]

favia’s are slow growers. try target feeding it if you’d like to speed up the process but even then some favias only grow millimeters per year. here’s an example, top pic is original, bottom is 4.5 years later (with target feeding)

 

[PotatoPig]

favia’s are slow growers. try target feeding it if you’d like to speed up the process but even then some favias only grow millimeters per year. here’s an example, top pic is original, bottom is 4.5 years later (with target feeding)

Thank you - good to know where to set expectations! This thing is probably the slowest growing coral in the tank - including the SPS, so was starting to wonder.

 

[encrustingacro]

In the wild, Dipsastraea (former Favia) grow to be hemispherical. However, in captivity, they more-often just encrust, likely due to receiving lower lighting intensities.
Dipsastraea sp.; Bali, Indonesia | Credit: portioid on iNaturalist

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I've had my yellow sub for about a year, it has doubled in size. It really only started to grow in the last 4-5 months, I got no growth at all for the first 6 months. But at least now seems to be growing a little faster.

In the pic, the top part is the original part, it grows downwards, you can see how the bottom part shapes to the rock. I think it makes new bud and splits, but I'm not sure. This pic is under my MH lighting, it looks amazing when my OR3's turn on in the evening, its a gorgeous coral.

 

[eliaslikesfish]

Thank you - good to know where to set expectations! This thing is probably the slowest growing coral in the tank - including the SPS, so was starting to wonder.

do keep in mind there are definitely faster growing favia then the one i posted, i’m honestly not sure how fast your exact specimen will grow but favia in general is definitely the slowest growing coral i’ve ever had

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

Favias will split to grow and encrust, however they are extremely slow growing so be patient?

 

[Alexraptor]

As mentioned its a very slow grower, and benefits heavily from supplemental feeding. The polyps divide while it grows, but they are also capable of budding off at the base of the polyp.

I actually have a picture that shows both types of growth, from 2014, while my Favia was recovering from a disaster that resulted in bleaching and die-off a couple of years earlier.

Towards the middle left you can actually see a polyp that is in the process of dividing, there is still a shared outed wall, but the mouths have separated and there is a barrier froming between them. Towards the right hand side of the colony and bottom, you can see a few smaller, ill-fitting polyps that have budded off, from the base of the surviving polyps.

This is the same colony in 2024, 10 years later, before and after moving from my 15g to my 25.

Seen from above, it's nearly a perfect orb.

Heres a side view, has a bit of a mushroom like foot, made up of the old skeleton seen in the first picture.

 

[PotatoPig]

Favias will split to grow and encrust, however they are extremely slow growing so be patient?

Thank you - I’ve been watching one polyp take on a slightly weird shape and was wondering it it was perhaps getting ready to split, going by the overhead view seems it’s headed that way.:

 

[VintageReefer]

This is dragon soul but the growth should be similar.

Mine the polyps divided and eventually they just started getting larger and larger.

It encrusts. It encrusted a small rock and when it got to the sand, I put that rock, on another larger rock, and it encrusted that also

These pics are all a few months apart over the course of 1.5 years. I had the coral for 2 years and it started as a single polyp

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

Thank you - I’ve been watching one polyp take on a slightly weird shape and was wondering it it was perhaps getting ready to split, going by the overhead view seems it’s headed that way.:

Yes will likely split in a few months

 

[Ziggy17]

I’ve had my yellow submarine for 4 months and not a single mm grown yet. Glad this thread was posted as I was starting to wonder as well.