[3] This species can be distinguished from the more common Dipsastraea pallida, with which it has often been confused, by its septa, which are fine, numerous, and regularly spaced.

The relationship between the zooxanthellae and the coral polyp creates a tight recycling of nutrients in nutrient-poor tropical waters and is the driving force behind the growth and productivity of the reef.

[6] Once the egg is fertilized it becomes a zygote develops into a planktonic larva called planula and floats around the water column by currents.

Eventually, the planula settles on a hard substrate and begins to undergo metamorphosis transforming it from a juvenile to an adult.

Spawning tends to take place in the evening or at night, around the last quarter moon of the lunar cycle.

[8][9][10] A full moon is equivalent to four to six hours of continuous dim light exposure, which can cause light-dependent reactions in protein.

The resulting dark period between day-light and night-light removes the suppressive effect of moonlight and enables coral to spawn.

[8] Dipsastraea speciosa was cited as "Least Concern" on the IUCN Red List in January 2008 although its population trend is decreasing.

[1] It faces threats such as residential and commercial development, transportation and services through shipping lanes, fishing, and harvesting for aquatic resources like aquariums, human recreational activities, pollution such as domestic and urban wastewater and climate change.

In one study, Dipsastraea speciosa was tested to see how its morphological, physiological or behavioral expression of a genotype is effected by environment-dependent variation.

The oral disks lost their bright green pigmentation and the surrounding tissues turned pale brown.