Dipsastraea matthaii Is The Cutest Little Favia!

Dipsastraea matthai is a pretty common coral in the trade. It’s often misidentified as Micromussa. And it was recently moved from Favia that is now exclusively Atlantic genus, to the new Dipsastraea which has been created for its Indopacific members of the former genus.

Green with pink center is a very popular color morph of Dipsastraea matthaii, (former Favia)

A nice cultured specimen of Dipsastraea matthaii from Bali Aquarium

Intra-tentacular budding in Dipsastraea:

Dipsastrea is very similar to Phymastrea (Ex-Montastrea). Polyps don’t share walls. Corallite size is about the same size. The pronounced septa give the same ringed calice look. Paliform lobe surrounding the mouth are usually obvious. And finally, the center of the corallite is wider in Dipsastraea.

P. valenciennesi, note the extratentacular budding

Note the intra-tentacular budding in this Dipsastraea sp.

But the main difference between them is that new polyps appear inside older polyps (intra-tentacular) in Dipsastraea. While it appears in between older polyps (extra-tentacular) in Tipastrea.

It is distinguished from other Dipsastraea, by the very crowded corallites, and the obvious paliform lobes surrounding the mouth.

Dipastraea matthaii is usually misidentified as a Micromussa:

The main reason for this confusion is the pretty much same corallite size. But the main difference and most obvious difference can be observed when all the tissues are retracted. Micromussa polyps share the same walls, while Dipsastraea don’t and each polyp has its own wall.

A nice purple Dipsastraea matthaii, note the paliform lobes, like an edge surrounding the mouth

Probably one a the nicest specimen of Dipsastraea matthaii we ever encountered. Cultured specimen from Bali Aquarium.

They don’t belong to the same family.

Habitat:

Dipsastraea matthaii is a common coral of shallow, turbid reefs. Sometimes exposed to a bit of current. It’s a LPS, so it doesn’t need a tremendous amount of light. But it will enjoy some mild direct light. It can withstand a good amount of flow. And certainly will enjoy a copious amount of food, that will definitely increase its growth.

Coloration:

Dipsastraea matthaii is a coral that gets really colorful

This species develops a very wide spectrum of colorations. Often with different coloration, between, the mouth, septa, and coenosteum. Or marble style coloration that is typical of Dipsastraea (Ex Favia).

This species is very colorful, easy to maintain, rewarding coral. It’s gaining popularity as it can be fragged and grown pretty easily. It’s a good aquarium coral and a good option for beginning reef aquarists.

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Vincent Chalias

Vincent is a coral passionate aquarist with extensive experience in the industry, travelling the world to learn about corals. His background is a master degree in Marine Aquaculture. He set up the first Indonesian Coral mariculture farms at the beginning of the century and spent over 20 years in Indonesia running them. He's been extensively diving and documenting corals all over the Indo-Pacific.