? on encrusting coral

[sadie]

When I see different encrusting coral for sale, they are on small plugs.  Sometimes they cover the whole plug and sometimes they don't.  So how do they grow from this plug?  Do they spread off the plug and onto rock like GSP?  Do they actually have a skeleton?  What do they look like when they are bigger?  Do they just keep growing?

 

If you could post pictures of a full grown or established encrusting coral that would be great.  I can't picture what they would look like all spread out.

[ninjamyst]

They will grow off the plug.  They do form their skeleton but encrusted on top of whatever surface they are on.  Once they spread they are hard to control and can easily take over other corals.  Be careful where you put them.  

[Jakesaw]

I've got a limited experience with encrusting, but my experience is they generally just cover whatever surface they are on and grow out at the edges and their shape will reflect the surface they cover. 

 

The encrusting corals you have seen that that have not covered plugs are likely new frags.  Left alone, the plug will be covered over time.

 

They will take the shape of structure they cover.  And yes, they grow similar to GSP, though I don't know if they all spread at the same rate. 

 

My GSP ( which is a sort of encrusting coral ) will grow over sand.  My Favia will not, and my orange encrusting coral will not grow over sand.

 

 

Below are Favia Been sitting flat in sandbed for months.  Was fresh cut when I got it --  the edges were nipped up from bandsaw, but healed encrust to edges in time- no spread on sand.  I just learned it was an encrusting coral recently.  When I get a larger tank, I'll look to glueit on a larger surface and see what happens.  For now it just sits waiting.

 

Orange Encrusting - came on a plug with Rock fragment - The Orange covered the surface or rock around the surface shape.