FAVIA CORAL CARE OVERVIEW

• LIGHT: MODERATE (100-150 par) is what we find best, although they can probably tolerate up to 200. It's important to keep in mind that it is far easier to damage coral with too much lighting so in our opinion when it comes to lighting, less is often more for LPS corals. You can learn more about Lighting and it's overall impact on your reef tank in our article Lighting and your Reef Tank

• FOOD: We don't feel that favia corals require any special feeding regimen. They will catch and consume most food particles in the water column. Like most corals they capture nutrients from the water and will do best when supplied a healthy amount of food. Our method is high import, high export. You can learn more about Feeding and Filtration in our article Feeding, Filtration and your Reef Tank.

• FLOW: MODERATE. Favia corals benefit from a moderate amount of water flow that keeps the coral clean and brings food to its mouths. That said it is always INDIRECT flow. Too much flow, especially direct flow, can cause damage to the corals tissue or an inability to capture food. You can read more about Flow and its overall impact on your reef tank in our article Flow and your Reef Tank

• DIFFICULTY: BEGINNER. This is a great coral in the hobby, and there are many aqua cultured specimens available. Favia tend to be decent growers and have a strong long term outlook in captivity. This does not mean every wild specimen will be able to adapt to captivity, but it does mean that many hobbyists have found success long term. Like with all corals, specimens have been seen to do well in captivity when the right combination of Food/Light/Flow and Filtration are achieved. 

• PRICE: LOW-MODERATE. Favia corals are decently popular among hobbyists. Many common variety include dragon soul, reverse dragon soul, raptor, and others. Favia can have striking coloration and variety and are reasonable growers. Because of the wide variety of aquacultured specimens and the overall success in captivity, favia tend to be more fairly priced. As always, the specific coloration and size of the specimen will ultimately dictate the price.

• COLLECTION ZONE: Indo-Pacific

• SCIENTIFIC NAME:  Favia is a genus of reef-building stony corals in the family Mussidae. Members of the genus are massive or thickly encrusting colonial corals, either dome-shaped or flat, and a few are foliaceous. There is a great diversity of form even among individuals of the same species
  

• AGGRESSION: AGGRESSIVE. You would not want to place them too closely to anything that you don't want to get stung. Although sometimes they may appear peaceful, you never know when the coral will turn. This usually comes with size health and age. We recommend at least 3-4" away from other species, potentially more. You should monitor as it grows.

• NATURAL TEMPERATURE: 82 °F / 28 °C  although most corals can adapt and survive in temps as low as 77 degrees and as high as 84 degrees. You can read more about temperature and how it affects your reef tank in our article Temperature and your Reef Tank.

• PH: Recommend 8.0-8.4, we tend to run around 8.2-8.3 over 24 hours. You can read more about pH in our article pH and your Reef Tank

• NITRATE: 5-10, try to keep stable. You can read more about nitrate and our approach to maintaining it in our article Nutrients and your Reef Tank

• PHOSPHATE: 0.05-0.1, try to keep stable. You can read more about Phosphate and our approach to maintaining it in our article Nutrients and your Reef Tank

• ALKALINITY: Recommend 8-9 dKh. You can read more about how we maintain our alkalinity in our article Alkalinity, Calcium and your Reef Tank

• CALCIUM: Recommend 400-450. You can read more about how we maintain our calcium in our article Alkalinity, Calcium and your Reef Tank
  
  

More About Favia Corals

Favia corals are large polyp stony (LPS) corals. They have an encrusting base but usually grow forming a dome-shape. Favia corals are also known as "brain corals" or "closed brain corals." The corallites of the Favia coral form their own individual walls. You should be able to see the groove in-between the 2 individual walls of a Favia coral. Sometimes this can make it hard to distinguish between a Favia coral and a Favites coral. (They look and are very similar, but Favites corals will have one fused/shared wall instead of the two distinct walls.)  We allow some grace in the identification of these corals as it can be very hard to determine in smaller specimens. They both require similar care, so it's okay if you aren't 100% which type you have right away. Favia corals appear in a variety of colors and patterns. 

Caring for Favia corals is relatively easy, making them an excellent choice for both beginner and expert Reef Chasers. They require low to moderate lighting combined with moderate water movement. We recommend 100-200 PAR. Bear in mind that many corals can be gradually acclimated to lighting beyond their normal range. Water flow that is too high can damage their fleshy polyps. 

Through their symbiotic relationship with a photosynthetic algae, known as zooxanthellae, they receive many of their nutrients.  Favia corals benefit from targeted feeding of meaty foods like Mysis shrimp or brine shrimp. To maintain good health, calcium, strontium, and other trace elements should be monitored and added as needed.

When placing your Favia coral, please remember that Favia corals are known to be aggressive. They have long sweeper tentacles that can extend to sting other corals that get too close. Be sure to provide enough personal space for your Favia coral to grow and thrive.