Toro Bravo Favites

General information

In general, corals from the genus Favites looks similar to a Favia coral. But having a closer look allows you to spot a major difference which makes Favites a unique coral genera. You have to take note that the corallite walls of Favia corals are fused while the Favites are not. Although it looks fused at a first glance, but having a closer look will tell you that the corallite walls of Favites are individually separated and bounded in between by a shallow valley.

For the Toro Bravo Favites, they are predominatly colored red violet on the wall and yellow in the mouth. This are the water parameters for cultivating Toro Bravo Favites:

• Calcium: 400 – 450 ppm
• Alkalinity: 2.86 – 3.93 MEQ/L (8 – 11 dKH)
• Phosphates: 0
• Magnesium: 1200 – 1350
• Strontium: 8 -10
• Temperature: 74° – 83° F (23° – 28° C)
• Salinity / Specific Gravity: 1.023 – 1.025

Toro Bravo Favites can survive without feeding courtesy from the nourishment it recieves from the symbiotic zooxanthellae that is living within them. But you still need to feed them with supplemental foods like krill, mysis or brine shrimp. The addition of dissolved organics is also recommended.

A mature tank is highly recommended in propagating Toro Bravo Favites. They need to be set at the bottom portion of the tank where lighting and flow rate are in moderation.

Toro Bravo Favites requires moderate lighting and moderate water flow.

Toro Bravo Favites is susceptible to hair algae. This usually occurs if the water flow is too low or not sufficient.

Toro Bravo Favites can be found in the Indo-west Pacific Ocean. They are now listed as a threatened species under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which means that their global trading is now monitored.

Toro Bravo Favites must be set in the tank with enough spacing in relation to other coral species.

Since the Toro Bravo Favites is a marine species, salinity must be entirely maintained at 1.023 to 1.025 specific gravity.