are these mushrooms?

[thefatman]

hey all. when i first got this new live rock a few weeks ago, i mentioned some grey growths that were on a piece of the rock. today while installing my spray bar, i noticed that not only were they still there, but they are spreading! the lfs said they MAY be a type of shroom, but he wasn't certain.

they are very smooth to the touch. some are bigger than they were two weeks ago, and there are also several new ones, smaller, off to the left upper side of the rock.

any idea what they may be?

[thefatman]

and another

[grazzit]

I've got almost exactly the same thing only it's black and not spreading.

[binylee]

I think that they are sponge, not mushroom

[thefatman]

hmm. and sponges will be safe for the tank? i was actually wondering that anyway because i'd like ot getsome of the red and orange "tree" sponges.

[Casey]

looks like a sponge should be fine.

[Mrs Smith]

Looks like a sponge to me. Perfectly safe - and everyone has them. They just pop up. The only problem is that they do die occasionally, which can pollute a small tank, just like anything else dying.

I've never bought a sponge. I just know that exposing it to air is bad, bad, bad.

Danielle

[Mrs Smith]

Oh, and mushrooms will change throughout the course of a day like most corals. They'll unfurl and get a lot bigger when the lights are on. That's one thing to check to be sure.

Danielle

[thefatman]

cool beans. thanks everyone

[grazzit]

Jay I should just follow you around, you seem to ask all the right questions that I wanna know LOL

[thefatman]

lol

just dont follow me at 2 am. i'm still groggy, can't see straight, don't have my glasses on, and keep bumping into walls

my teachers used to get mad at me in college because i was always asking questions that they didn't have the answer too it was especially bad, since i was a lowly american stumping them! ( i attended college in germany)