Favia vs favites... Whats the difference?

[kilofey]

I bought 2 frags that were sold to me as favia. They are very different (not just in color). One has eyes that look like little cups. It has tan around the eyes and lime green centers & it stands about 1/4" off the frag rock (i assume cause it hasnt grown out & blanketed it yet) and the other is prettymuch flush with the rock and has smaller eyes whoch are maroon with lime green centers. Does it characteristically sound like i have one of each? I would post pix but the hubby is hogging the computer & I cant post pix from my phone for some reason *stupid droids* :flame:
Also, can they be poisonous? When I touched them to put them in the tank they secreted mucous.

 

[1guydude]

favia coral and favites are rather similar corals and hard to differentiate.
common names are pineapple corals or closed brains. They are LPS corals that are supposed to have clear sweeper tentacles but i have yet to seen it from mine.
If i had to try and tell the diff i would say that the favites have smaller heads and are more stony than the favia that have more of a fleshy look and have bigger heads....but honestly i hope someone who has more experience chimes in about these corals!
They are one of the most common corals in the world!

 

[kilofey]

Wierd lol, cause my stonier one has bigger eyes and the more fleshy one has smaller eyes... The bigger eyes one has major sweepers & the smaller eyes one I havent seen any yet. They must be having identity crisises :rotfl: well, is their care the same? If so I guess who cares what they are im not one to remember the silly names ppl give corals like fire & ice or gorilla nipples ect (just the 2 I could think of... Not favias, but u get the idea) I just care to tell ppl "thats a duncan, and thats a kenya tree, and that one is a favia"... Though I assume most noobs prolly think this way lol :hi:

 

[1guydude]

Its all good...i think that way as do most sw people...with a lil expierence under their belt.
I dont like all that name callin mumbojumbo...
its all for sales and online crapola!
helps to identify a certain color though or shape of some
As long as u like it and the colors than thats wat matters imo!
popularity for a certain coral can cause a price spike indeed....
as far as care for those, they are considered easy..
med flow with med to high light! They will tolerate lower lights though. Mainly need cal, mag, and blah blah blah...u dont have to feed em but will accept food!
Mine are frags... ive got three diff ones...
lots of sub species so im not surprised that urs are diff! LOL
Hard to categorize corals cuz they are so widly diverse!
I took zoology in highschool but didnt pay attention lol...if only we could go back!

 

[kilofey]

Is the ammount of cal in instant ocean reef crystals sufficient? I dont have a cal test *yet* cause up until now ive only had mushrooms & other easy corals that need like nothing to thrive lol

 

[acrylic51]

The levels in the salt should be fine....Heck IO levels would be fine....

 

[geoj]

To tell them apart, The walls of the corallites, the raised areas in which polyps reside, are shared or fused in the Favites species, whereas the walls of the Favia genus are not.