Species
Favites pentagona
An encrusting brain with corallite walls that contrast sharply against the mouths. Holds colour under moderate light and feeds well.
Care basics
As forgiving as stony corals get, which is why it is on most beginner lists — but it is also aggressive at close range, and the damage happens overnight where nobody is watching.
Colour follows light closely in this genus. The same colony under 12,000 K and under heavy actinic is two different-looking animals, which is why our photographs state the lighting on every shot.
Scientific classification
- Phylum
- Cnidaria
- Class
- Anthozoa
- Order
- Scleractinia
- Family
- Merulinidae
- Genus
- Favites
- Described by
- Esper, 1795
At a glance
- Alkalinity
- 8–9 dKH
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Aggression
- High
