ID help?

[lynxie]

i have NO clue what this is .... noticed it a few days ago starting to grow on one of my rocks, and now it's almost covered. only on the ONE rock, partially shadded on the bottom of the tank.... looks like it's covered in white transparent tubules.... algal roots? soft coral? anemone? fungus? i'm not sure if i should scrape it or leave it...


sorry the pics aren't great, but my camera keeps trying to focus on the glass not the rock deeper into the tank.

[fuzzybob4]

Is it soft when you touch it or is it hard.

[jenglish]

Looks like some type of sponge, or maybe tunicates, hard to tell from pic.

[lynxie]

not hard like rocks... kind of feels soft, but firm enough that it doesn't squish to nothing like i imagine aiptaisia would. doesn't flake off unless REALLY scraped... squishier than my macro algae feels i think... does seem to retract a bit when the lights go off, but doesn't close right up/disappear into rock or anything. haven't seen shrimp, hermits, or any of my snails (nassarius, mexican, astraea) on that rock at all (and they're doing a great job of cleaning off the other rocks)

[Loverotties]

Looks like sponge.

[lynxie]

is that a "leave 'er be" or a "scrape 'er off" if it's sponge or squirts?

[Reeftanker3295]

That would be a leave it, all tanks will get sponges they wont do anything bad to the system.

[icebear]

if its kinda fluffy looking, white and a tad fuzzy- looks like it has dust in it?

every time that stuff shows up in my tank and i don't remove it, hair algae grows there... i kinda think of it as hair algae early stage.

aim a powerhead at it and scrub it with a toothbrush. if it is something alive, its not interesting or unusual enough to keep or leave alone.

[tdwyatt]

Leave it: Tunicates or sponge in an early form.