They are pretty slow. I would say I have had a little more than 1 head per year growth out of the original single polyp frag that I started with. I've had it for nearly 3 years now.
they are fun to feed. The first polyp I got, I had so much fun feeding that I gave it over 30 mysis shrimp. I think it over ate. It closed up, then went south, receeded to the point where I could see the rock through the center of the polyp and stayed that way for almost a year...I didn't think it was alive any more. Then over the course of a month or so, it sort of split and formed a baby then the original polyp came back. Literally a year later!
The more (frequently) you feed them, the faster they grow. Don't get caught up on amount of food (more on that below), just frequency.
Originally Posted by Rabidgoose
Are they that slow of a grower or is it me?
This can depend on many things, but IME, main thing is the specific Species they are. I feed my dendros every other day, sometimes daily, and I have two colonies that grow three times as fast as several other colonies... BUT, they're different species
Nice polyp BTW!
Originally Posted by jimsflies
I think it over ate. It closed up, then went south, receeded to the point where I could see the rock through the center of the polyp and stayed that way for almost a year...I didn't think it was alive any more. Then over the course of a month or so, it sort of split and formed a baby then the original polyp came back.
I've had this happen to me before (but with a Rhizotrochus typus)... these predatous meat eating coral can only digest so much food at one time - but they sure as heck will accept plenty more than that! They'll grab much more food than they can digest, toss it in their moth, and it will literally rot and poison the coral. I'm very glad to hear that yours made a full recovery, and reproduced no less!
I make sure that my Dendrophyllia polyps receive one or two P.E. Mysis shrimp per feeding (only give the big, big guys two). This keeps them VERY happy, and will ensure they can digest the food sufficiently