Acan growth pattern

hello, i was wondering if anyone could give me a little more information on acan growth patterns when placed on a sand bed.

does the coral have the ability to encrust the sand for new growth?

 

It must build first skeleton, it's not considering encrusting. The skeleton will cover sand but sand is not incorporated into the skeletal structure. Polyp tissue may appear to grow over substrate but the polyp is only attached to the basal plate.

 

thats exactly what i was wondering, wasnt sure if it created its own skeleton.

as always, thank you very much!

 

You're welcome.

 

All stony corals create their own skeleton, fwiw.