new things on mushroom rock

[Mael]

So I have this rock that came with two nice little mushrooms on it. Been in the tank for a few months now and in the last week or two I noticed these white things growing on the rock, not sure if they are sponges or not, and they dont seem to bother the little mushrooms....yet. Anyone confirm what this is and if I need to get rid of it?

Its the white tube like things, there are 4 tubes on the rock now, a week ago there was only the one on the left.

 

[DallasNYC]

My guess would be some type of tree/tube sponge as well..

 

[Mael]

ok, for now Ill just keep an eye on it as they dont seem to bother the mushrooms, but if they start to take over the little rock I may need to see about removing them.

 

[Mael]

update: After leaving it alone since my last post the white sponge/tubes have doubled in number and size. Again, the ones that rub against the mushrooms dont seem to bother it(the shroom doesnt shrink away) but I am worried about it overgrowing the rock and smothering them, plus it looks like it is trying to spread to other rocks. So tonight or tomorrow I am taking it out and cutting/removing as much of the sponge as possible and then will dip in Revive. Will report back later.

 

[sbcaes]

sponges are good for your tanks. just move them.

 

[Mael]

how do you move them? These are growing in long string like tubes that warp around the rock, so that the whole side of the string is attached in some cases.

I did remove all the long parts last night and and cleaned up the rock, looks much better now, I have sponges in other places in my tank where they dont bother coral so I am not worried about removing these little strings, especially since I like these shrooms more.