Head Coral

About

Head coral (Dipsastraea favus) is a large polyp stony coral known by a handful of descriptive nicknames, honeycomb coral, knob coral, and pineapple coral, all of which hint at its most obvious feature: a heavily patterned surface of distinct, walled corallites arranged in a tightly packed mosaic. The overall colony tends to be massive and dome-shaped, growing slowly into a solid, boulder-like form that gives a reef tank real visual weight and structure. In the wild, it's found across a broad sweep of the Indo-Pacific, from shallow reef flats all the way down to around 50 meters, which speaks to its adaptability across a range of light conditions. Its natural range spans tropical to subtropical latitudes, so it's well suited to the conditions most reef keepers are already maintaining. In the aquarium, Dipsastraea favus is considered an intermediate-level coral. Not the first choice for someone brand new to reef keeping, but well within reach for anyone who has a stable, established system and a handle on the basics of coral husbandry. It asks for moderate lighting and moderate water movement, and it plays well with other inhabitants, posing no threat to the broader reef community.