identify please

[wheat]

Can anyone tell me what this is. I cant figure it out.You cant really tell but it is about 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" and deep almost transparent red on the bottom.

[drw94]

your guess is as good as mine!

[JennM]

Space alien?

Jenn

[yardboy]

chicken liver sponge? But hey are usually kinda brown, but they do have red tints to them. The holes in them give them away as sponges. (Gee, given that, my head oughta be a sponge too, but it doesn't seem to absorb anything)

[jdbassin]

Colonial tunicate



jd

[wheat]

thanks for the replys but I also think it is a space alien. I cant find any tunicate that looks like this. under atinic the areas that look like holes glo orange its soft almost like bubble algae. the tops are almost a white silver and the bottom is deep red. strange

[tabwyo]

Ok who slipped us all acid? It look like some tripped out kinda sponge. Better let Tdwyatt wiegh in on this one.

[pmh]

I had bubble algae that got covered with coaline once. Looked just like that. Pluck one off and see.


pmh

[atzak]

Give it a catchy name, see if you can frag it, sell it on ebay

[reefworried124]

MMMMmmmmm....Potatoes...

[tdwyatt]

Originally Posted by reefworried124

MMMMmmmmm....Potatoes...

Heh, first thing that popped into my head...


Difficult to ID something like this from a picture, although I would tend to agree that it is a turnicate or sponge just from the shots. Many turnicates will have vivid colorations like this to their colony; just because we can't match it to an existing picture doesn't mean that it isn't a turnicate, as they have intraspecie color variations as well.

Basically, I dunno WHAT it is from just the photo...



Is it hard? soft? slimey?

Can you take a picture of it with a ruler in the photo?

Do you know where it was collected, or did it just appear in your tank? If it grew there, where did the rock come from?

Does it display any daily changes? How about any behaviors at all? Is it in shade or direct lighting?

Remember tha many of the colonial animals in the ocean may morph under differing conditiions as well, they have had many eons of success at adapting to changing conditions, and may mimic other organisms in doing so.