War Coral - How is it different from Favia?

[aentrop]

What makes a war coral different from a Favia?

 

[Wes]

it is a favia, just a name given to this red and green variation by tyree

 

[DaveJ]

Favia Pentagona.... is the species, they come with a variety of coloration. The solid blood red seems to be the most sought after, followed by the marbled green/brown and red you see more commonly. The War coral used to be quite a rarity, but they are much more common these days and the price has come down quite a bit. Still, you will end up paying a tidy sum for a colony of it. They grow pretty fast and steady once happy.

So to answer your question, it is favia but what makes it unique is the deep red with green eye coloration. Its a very pretty coral but the Tyree strain isn't the nicest I have seen. The Jen Dub 'big mouth' is a much nicer coral and I have seen a few purple/green and blue/yellowish green out there that were simply stunning.

 

[Monti]

Actually I believe it's Favites pentagona. The corallite walls are shared which would make it a Favites not a Favia.

 

[Wes]

i would have to agree. my bad. learn something every day in this hobby.

here is an exert i pulled from another thread

In the attached pic, you can clearly see the separation between the heads on the right coral which is the favia. The war coral to the left is a favites, this is the major (only?) difference in the coral. Now, if we really wanted to do it properly we would have to bleach a peice of the war coral, and i doubt anyone wants to do that.

 

[aentrop]

Excellent write up! Thats exactly the answer I was looking for, thanks so much!

 

[TheMcs]

I'll have to point out some inconsistencies based on my own observations, assuming you are talking about favia/favites in general and not favites pentagona specifically.

@Wes wrote:

They are not exclusively backwater/lagoon corals, the barrier reef off of Belize hosts many tiny to massive "closed brain" corals. Also, the thinking that since they are used to dirtier water means that they are ideal for a pristine reef conflicts with a popular theory on the decline of captive elegans corals as reef filtration improves. I realize they are two different corals, but the same theory could apply to that general statement.

@Wes wrote:

These animals do encrust, as a matter of fact utilizing this trait can provide you with a larger specimen from a small frag. It takes more time/energy for a favia to build upon itself and expand its ball shape. Taking a frag and placing it in a depression of rock allows the coral to focus its energy on encrusting a light layer of skeleton and flesh, rather than build a massive structure. I have several favias that grow up to nearby LR then begin to encrust on it.

The second sentence is correct, favia/favites/platygyra are colonial feeders.

@Wes wrote:

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I used to think I knew a lot about IDing these animals. Then I got Veron's books and realized I know nothing.

Again, the above is my experience with the genuses as a whole, not specifically with the "war coral". If the dissected post was specific, then my bad.