Hows my new Favia looking?

[Brav403]

Its been in the tank 2 days now. Kept pretty central to the light but on a plug on the sandbed. It wasn't particularly bright red in the LFS so I am not too concerned about the dull colour.

I dont really know how to tell if Favia is happy or not to be honest so some guidance would be great. I haven't seen it extend any sweeper/feeders yet so is that a sign it's not happy? I figured I'd give it some time before I move it off the substrate and onto a lowlight, rock outcrop.

 

[tzabor10]

Looking great. Nice work

 

[Cell]

Looks like a war coral.

 

[Brav403]

Looks like a war coral.

Is there a difference? Sorry for the ignorance I am new to LPS

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

Is there a difference? Sorry for the ignorance I am new to LPS

"War coral" is favities sp. True favia aren't found in the hobby but what's labeled as favia and favities have about the same care requirements. Favities is basically just "favia" with smaller polyps

 

[Dragen Fiend]

Looks healthy. And war coral is just another name for favia.

If its not healthy the color will start to get dull, exoskeleton will expose and the sides will start to die back.

Favias are one of my favorites due to color variations for the price.

As for sweeper/feeders. It depends. Some of mine only show sweepers at night or when my lights are powering down the last few hours. They don't always come out during feeding sessions. I always check at night because that's when they tend to send them out to the max. Got to make sure they are not starting a war with nearby corals lol.

 

[Cell]

No, war coral and favia which are now called dipsastrea are not the same.

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

No, war coral and favia which are now called dipsastrea are not the same.

I meant very similar care. They are not the same species, however their care is similar to favia, exept they have smaller polyps

 

[Cell]

I meant very similar care. They are not the same species, however their care is similar to favia, exept they have smaller polyps

Wasn't referring to you.

Looks healthy. And war coral is just another name for favia.

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

Wasn't referring to you.

Ohh, my bad. Thought you were talking about when I said that they're basically the same coral with smaller polyps

 

[encrustingacro]

"War coral" is favities sp. True favia aren't found in the hobby but what's labeled as favia and favities have about the same care requirements. Favities is basically just "favia" with smaller polyps

Correction: the difference between Favites and "Favia" (Dipsastraea) is a little complicated, but the main difference is that Favites is cerioid while Dipsastraea is plocoid, not their corallite size. Favites come in small (pentagona & friends), medium (abdita & friends), and large-polyp varieties (vasta & friends), while Dipsastraea really only comes in medium and large-polyp varieties. Note that the small polyp Favites species are technically not Favites at all; they just haven't been reclassified yet. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, such as the ex-Phymastraea species, Favites rotundata, or Dipsastraea rosaria, as well as Dipsastraea becoming subcerioid in intertidal areas, so you really have to take Favites/Dipsastraea identification on a case-by-case basis. Hope this helps.

 

[Drewbacca]

Correction: the difference between Favites and "Favia" (Dipsastraea) is a little complicated, but the main difference is that Favites is cerioid while Dipsastraea is plocoid, not their corallite size. Favites come in small (pentagona & friends), medium (abdita & friends), and large-polyp varieties (vasta & friends), while Dipsastraea really only comes in medium and large-polyp varieties. Note that the small polyp Favites species are technically not Favites at all; they just haven't been reclassified yet. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, such as the ex-Phymastraea species, Favites rotundata, or Dipsastraea rosaria, as well as Dipsastraea becoming subcerioid in intertidal areas, so you really have to take Favites/Dipsastraea identification on a case-by-case basis. Hope this helps.

Can any of them in general, or perhaps the exact same classification, grow alongside each other in peace, aka meet and touch edges while encrusting the same large surface?
For that reason, I wanted to know some of the case by case classifications of the more well known examples of each.. aka wwc war coral, JF contract killer favia.. or some of Tidal Gardens ( they have a huge variety of nice favia color morphs alot of which seem to be the type)
However, depending on the answer it may not matter, since as you mentioned, most other care requirements are very similar.

These sweepers are no joke.
(Pretend this is a 'Joker Favia')

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Any recent pictures of it?

 

[steveschuerger]

Nice looking. Probably Favites type. And yeah they can put out modest sweepers

 

[encrustingacro]

Can any of them in general, or perhaps the exact same classification, grow alongside each other in peace, aka meet and touch edges while encrusting the same large surface?
For that reason, I wanted to know some of the case by case classifications of the more well known examples of each.. aka wwc war coral, JF contract killer favia.. or some of Tidal Gardens ( they have a huge variety of nice favia color morphs alot of which seem to be the type)
However, depending on the answer it may not matter, since as you mentioned, most other care requirements are very similar.

These sweepers are no joke.
(Pretend this is a 'Joker Favia')

From what I know, corals of the same genus can generally be together--Dipsastraea with Dipsastraea, Favites with Favites, etc. However, since we lump multiple genera within "Favia", it may be hard to tell which one is compatible with which. This is coupled with the fact that some of these genera are polyphyletic, so you can't always place corals currently classified together next to each other. An example of this is the Favites pentagona clade (war corals), which is misplaced in Favites and actually more closely related to Astrea curta. Another example of this is Dipsastraea rosaria and Favites paraflexuosus, which molecular data suggests should be placed within Coelastrea.

As for the classifications of commonly-named "Favia", here are a few:
War Coral: Favites cf pentagona
Prism/Dragon-Soul Favia: Dipsastraea rosaria/Favites cf (para)flexuosus
Day-Glo Favia: F. cf pentagona
Christmas Favia: Dipsastraea sp.
Flame Boy Favia: F. cf pentagona
Joker Favia: Dipsastraea sp.
Favia of the Gods: Dipsastraea sp.
Splatter Favia/Goniastrea: Coelastrea palauensis