Maldives pavona
Pavona maldivensis
Also known as Maldivensis Pavona, Encrusting Pavona, Pavona
SaltwaterCoral
Care at a glance
- Temperature
- 75–81°F
- 24–27°C
- pH
- 8.1–8.4
- Adult size
- 7.9 in
- 20 cm
- Minimum tank
- 20 gal
- 75 L
- Temperament
- Mostly peaceful
- Social behavior
- Solitary
- Swim level
- Bottom
- Diet
- Photosynthetic
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Breeding
- Easy
- Rarity
- Common
- Reef safe
- Reef safe
- Family
- Agariciidae
- Origin
- Indo-Pacific, from the western Indian Ocean including the Maldives east across to the central Pacific, on shallow reef slopes and lagoons
Overview
The Maldives pavona is one of the easier small stony corals for a beginner. Reef keepers like it as a splash of solid color on the rockwork.
Did you know
Unlike the leafy, plate-building Pavona it is grouped with, the Maldives pavona grows as a stubby encrusting mound. That is why it is usually sold under its own species name rather than the shared cactus and potato chip labels.
Caring for the Maldives pavona
Give the Maldives pavona low to moderate light. Too much intensity washes out the color, because strong lighting bleaches it faster than it colors it up. It wants strong, turbulent flow, delivered intermittently, to keep it clean.
Keep the water at 75 to 81°F (24 to 27°C) and a pH of 8.1 to 8.4. Feeding is optional, since it takes most of its energy from light. Fine foods and dosed trace elements like calcium, magnesium and iodine support faster encrusting growth.
Its sweeper tentacles are short, so it is fairly easy to place. It will encrust its way across whatever it sits on and slowly overgrow any neighbor it can reach. Give it its own patch of rock, with a margin of bare rock around it.
Good to know
The Maldives pavona, Pavona maldivensis, is a colonial stony coral in the family Agariciidae. Its wall-less corallites share ridged septa, which give the surface its flower-like, connected look. It is zooxanthellate, with symbiotic algae living in its tissue. It is also sold as the encrusting pavona.
In the wild
The Maldives pavona is found across the Indo-Pacific, from the western Indian Ocean and the Maldives out to the central Pacific. It grows on shallow reef slopes and in lagoons. There it lays down a colored mat over the rock that thickens into short, knobby lobes, often bright green, orange or red.
Common questions
What size tank does a Maldives pavona need?
A Maldives pavona needs at least 20 gal (75 L).
What temperature and pH does a Maldives pavona need?
A Maldives pavona is comfortable at 75–81°F (24–27°C) with a pH of 8.1–8.4.
What does a Maldives pavona eat?
A Maldives pavona takes most of its energy from light, so feeding is optional. Fine foods and dosed calcium, magnesium and iodine help it encrust faster.
How big does a Maldives pavona get?
An adult Maldives pavona reaches about 7.9 in (20 cm).
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