Lighting
50-150 PAR is a starting range; fleshy tissue should expand without paling, stretching, or pulling against skeleton.
LPSIntermediateCare score 6/10
War Coral
Favites pentagona
War Coral care and ID profile for contrasting red and green eyes, shared corallite walls, burn line at colony borders, and practical placement decisions for mixed reef compatibility.
Compare contrasting red and green eyes, care range, and nearby lookalikes while checking an ID.
Snapshot
Quick Care Snapshot
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Care score
- 6/10
- Placement
- Low
- PAR range
- 50-150 PAR
- Flow
- Moderate
- Aggression
- High
- Growth rate
- Slow
- Minimum tank age
- 4 months
- Minimum tank size
- 25 gallons
Images
Reference Photos
Photos are shown only when a source includes reusable license metadata. Always verify appearance against the coral in your own lighting and flow.
Primary reference: Bondolo
Source: Wikimedia Commons. License: CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Philippe Bourjon
Source: Wikimedia Commons. License: CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Josuevg
Source: Wikimedia Commons. License: CC BY-SA 4.0
Ranges
Water Parameters
These ranges are approximate starting points from the coral database and should be adjusted to the stability and history of your system.
- Temperature
- 76-80 F / 24.4-26.7 C
- Salinity
- 1.024-1.026
- Alkalinity
- 8-9.5 dKH
- Calcium
- 400-460 ppm
- Magnesium
- 1250-1400 ppm
- Nitrate
- 2-15 ppm
- Phosphate
- 0.03-0.1 ppm
Care
Care Notes
Flow
moderate indirect flow should move tissue gently without folding it into sharp skeleton or neighbors.
Stability
For War Coral, verify salinity and alkalinity trends before changing placement; repeated moves and direct corrective swings can irritate fleshy tissue.
Variability
War Coral requirements vary by specimen, aquaculture history, shipping stress, and tank maturity; use these ranges as starting points, not guarantees.
Feeding
Feeding
- Benefits from feeding
- Yes
- Food types
- small meaty foods, mysis, LPS pellets
- Frequency
- weekly when feeding response is visible
ID
Identification
Key features
- contrasting red and green eyes
- shared corallite walls
- encrusting brain pattern
Common colors
- Red
- Green
- Orange
Similar coral references
How to tell apart
War Coral is best separated from Favites and Favia by weighing contrasting red and green eyes, shared corallite walls, and encrusting brain pattern. Look at corallite walls, polyp shape, tissue inflation, and where recession begins; then compare that structure with where the coral expands, retracts, or shows early recession. Do not rely only on color under blue lighting. Because trade photos can exaggerate color, skeleton shape, polyp layout, and expansion pattern are stronger clues than color alone.
Placement
Compatibility
Compatibility depends on specimen size, flow, growth, aggression, and spacing. Use these references conservatively and watch for contact over time.
Usually compatible with spacing
Use caution near
Avoid close placement with
Spacing recommendation: keep about 6 inches of clearance, then adjust based on extension and neighboring coral response.
Troubleshooting
Common Problems
Use these as troubleshooting checks, not a diagnosis. Symptoms may point to more than one issue.
War Coral burn line at colony bordersOpen for symptoms, likely causes to check, and practical next steps.
Symptoms that may indicate it
- a sharp pale line forms where War Coral meets another encrusting coral
- War Coral shows less normal extension, inflation, or feeding response than its recent baseline
- changes are localized rather than a confirmed single-cause condition
Likely causes to check
- border warfare, insufficient spacing, or growth into another colony
- recent placement, lighting, flow, or chemistry changes affecting War Coral
- possible irritation from neighbors, pests, detritus, or handling depending on the coral group
Quick checks
- check War Coral alkalinity trend and look for nearby stinging contact
- reduce direct flow if tissue is pressed against skeleton
- increase spacing and observe the coral under white light and after lights out
Checklist
Common Mistakes
- mount War Coral where its encrusting edge cannot quietly reach prized neighbors
- placing War Coral before confirming contrasting red and green eyes and its spacing needs
- using War Coral color or trade name alone instead of comparing it with Favites
- changing light, flow, and chemistry together when War Coral looks irritated
- ignoring fleshy tissue protection from direct flow when keeping War Coral
Compare
Similar Corals
Neighbors
Compatible Corals
These corals are usually compatible with spacing, observation, and stable conditions. This is not a guarantee.
Usually compatible with spacing
Favia
Dipsastraea spp. / Favia spp.
- Category
- LPS
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Aggression
- Moderate
Usually compatible with spacing
Favites
Favites spp.
- Category
- LPS
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Aggression
- Moderate
Usually compatible with spacing
Brain Coral
Trachyphyllia spp. / Lobophyllia spp. / Platygyra spp.
- Category
- LPS
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Aggression
- Moderate
FAQs
FAQs
Is War Coral beginner friendly?
War Coral is better treated as intermediate because placement, flow, feeding response, or aggression can vary by specimen.
Where should War Coral be placed?
Start War Coral low in the tank or on the sand/low rockwork when its tissue form allows it. Use 50-150 PAR and moderate flow as a starting point, then adjust from tissue extension, color, and nearby coral response.
Should I target feed War Coral?
War Coral may benefit from careful target feeding with small meaty foods, mysis, and LPS pellets. Use the listed frequency as a starting point: weekly when feeding response is visible. Feed only when the coral accepts food and avoid forcing food into stressed tissue.
Can War Coral touch other corals?
Give War Coral about 6 inches of clearance as a starting point. Its database aggression level is High. Use caution near Acan Coral, Blastomussa, and Candy Cane Coral. Avoid close placement with Zoanthids, Mushroom Coral, and Acropora. Compatibility is not a guarantee, so check contact points as colonies expand.
What should I check if War Coral looks stressed?
Use this as a troubleshooting check. For War Coral, a sharp pale line forms where War Coral meets another encrusting coral and War Coral shows less normal extension, inflation, or feeding response than its recent baseline can indicate War Coral burn line at colony borders. Likely causes to check include border warfare, insufficient spacing, or growth into another colony and recent placement, lighting, flow, or chemistry changes affecting War Coral. Start with these database checks: check War Coral alkalinity trend and look for nearby stinging contact and reduce direct flow if tissue is pressed against skeleton.
What stability issue matters most for War Coral?
For War Coral, verify salinity and alkalinity trends before changing placement; repeated moves and direct corrective swings can irritate fleshy tissue. The database lists 4 months as the minimum tank age and 25 gallons as the minimum tank size. For LPS-style care, protect fleshy tissue from repeated moves, direct flow, and abrupt chemistry corrections.
Coral Identifier
Identify War Coral.
Compare likely matches.
Use the app to compare photos, lookalikes, and key visual clues when you want a second pass on an ID.
Compare contrasting red and green eyes, care range, and nearby lookalikes while checking an ID.
Photo-based coral IDReference photosLikely matches
