The Christmas Favia is a popular and relatively inexpensive Favia colour morph. It has a mint green base with shades of purple and a red centre. Favia corals are one of the most numerous corals in the world’s oceans and a reef tank staple. They are known by many names including Pineapple, Brain and Honeycomb Coral. They are a colonial coral and grow by slowly expanding their stony skeleton, which is then covered by the coral’s flesh. Favias are closely related to Favites, which grow by encrusting on the rockwork.
Favia are found, like many corals in the saltwater hobby, in the Indo Pacific region. They can be found as deep as 20 meters but are usually found at depths of less than 5 meters. While they are very common in the wild, much of what is available for sale in the saltwater hobby has been aquacultured. This is especially true of specimens with specific trade names, such as the Christmas Favia. This helps to ensure that the coral is adapted to thrive in captivity and also helps to maintain a relative uniformity of colours and patterns. They are often placed on the bottom of the tank but can also be placed on the rockwork in the lower third of the tank. Because they are aggressive, care should be taken to ensure that they will not sting other corals. Favias will also sting each other.
Christmas Favia prefer moderate levels of both light and flow. A coral’s colour is a good indication of whether or not it is receiving the appropriate amount of light. A coral that is losing its colour or turning white may be receiving too much light, while one that is turning brown may not be receiving enough. Remember to make placement adjustments slowly to allow the coral to acclimatize to its new location. If the coral is placed on the sandbed the flow should be sufficient to prevent the buildup of detritus.
All favia are photosynthetic and are able to meet their energy needs by using the aquarium lighting. However, if spot fed they will grow faster and may display more vibrant colours. They can easily be fed an LPS pellet such as Vitalis LPS food.
Favia can be fragged with a band saw as long as the cuts are made in such a way that the flesh is damaged as little as possible. The new frag can be glued to a frag plug and placed on a frag rack and allowed to heal.