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Coral Guide |  |
Family: Faviidae (Stony Corals)
Habitat: Favites is found in a variety of reef habitats.
Light: Medium Water Flow: High Space: 50+ gal.
Reef Safe: Yes Care Level: Easy Temperament: Aggressive
Diet: These corals have zooxanthellae which provide much of their nutrition. It is believed they also feed on microzooplankton and directly absorb some nutrients from the water.
Natural History: Favites are widely distributed corals on reefs. The skeleton is very similar to Favia except that the corallites of Favites share common walls, whereas they do not in Favia. Polyp extension may hide this feature. Feeding tentacles emerge at night and their polyps swell by day enough to hide the skeleton. Favites polyps generally divide around the perimeter of the coral, and do not produce the scattered figure-8 shapes of Favia.
Husbandry: Pineapple Corals typically prefer bright light and moderate water flow to allow for full polyp expansion. Their sweeper tentacles make placement away from other corals important. They benefit from occasional nightly planktonic feedings. The colony size can exceed one meter in diameter.
AKA: Pineapple Coral, Moon Coral, Brain Coral, Closed Brain Coral, Star Coral