Help!! Weird white stuff coming out of candy cane coral head

[motohead400]

Hello all, I've got this weird white cotton looking stuff oozing out of the side of my candy cane coral head. The heads it is coming out of look somewhat collapsed. The one in the back has the longest and it has been happening for a few weeks now. There is also some weird purple thing at the bottom of the white stuff on it. The one in the front happened while I was on vacation the past week. I'm not sure if this is a parasite or what!!?? Any help is most appreciated.

Ammonia/Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 0.25 ppm
Calcium: 450
Alk: 9.2 dkh
Mag: 1300

 

[kfisc]

Very hard to say from the pics, but I'm thinking it may be a kind of sponge/tunicate or the like. If it isn't actually attached or rubbing against the living polyps of the coral, it's not responsible for any struggle the coral might be having.

 

[motohead400]

I just tried to grab it and pull it off to see if it was a sponge and it's hard as a rock--like it's a skeleton growing out of the head!? So far as I can tell it's definitely coming out of the head and very well attached.

 

[motohead400]

I just had a thought--could it be spawning? The growth is definitely skeletal in nature--very hard and sharp to the touch and it's coming out of the polyp. There's no skin around it but maybe it grows a skeleton before it gets covered when it spawns. I've googled and googled and can't really find much so this must be something fairly rare. Up until now the coral has been very healthy.