War Coral?

[Bubba12]

Is this War Coral? It was sold to me as a purple and green favia.

 

[cloak]

I don't think so. A War coral is usually red and green, no exceptions.

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=747+2662+3159&pcatid=3159

 

[nova65ss]

Looks like one to me.

 

[whatchamacallit]

I'm not sure who told you they just come in red and green, but that isn't true. I've had a pink war coral before that looked pretty close to that.

 

[Tanggirl12]

Here's my war coral, it got sprinkled this morning, excuse the sand

 

[Tanggirl12]

War corals are favites, the difference is in the wall structures, I think yours is a favia

 

[sc8kv123]

Looks similar to my dragon's soul favia. Looks like an awesome piece, congrats

 

[cloak]

I'm not sure who told you they just come in red and green, but that isn't true. I've had a pink war coral before that looked pretty close to that.

Yeah, that's just what I was always told. If this coral in particular does come in other colors you would think that they would have another name besides War Coral to kind of set them apart, no? Oh well...

 

[Tanggirl12]

Yeah, that's just what I was always told. If this coral in particular does come in other colors you would think that they would have another name besides War Coral to kind of set them apart, no? Oh well...

It's a favia, war coral is a favite. War coral's name I was told comes from the pentagonal shape of the cells, also known as Favites Pentagona. Different color variations are available.

 

[Bubba12]

Looks similar to my dragon's soul favia. Looks like an awesome piece, congrats

Thanks! I think I got a pretty good deal. It is hard to tell from the picture, but it is about 5-6" wide. Is there a fancy name for this one? It helps me remember what I have.

 

[evolved]

Lots of good info here, but lots of misinformation too.

First, your coral is of the favites genus.
Favia v. Favites: it's all about structure - the corallites of favia have seperate walls, favites have shared walls. As your coral's corallites have shared walls, it's favites.

Next, "war coral" is a common name for Favites pentagona. Yes, the polyps often have 5 edges. No, they are not always red and green. Color is never a good indicator for scientific classification of corals.

Lastly, your coral might be Favites pentagona, but it might be a closely related species too. A picture with better clarity would be helpful alongside the 14 different species of Favites: http://coral.aims.gov.au/info/factsheets.jsp