What's growing around my goniopora?

[TrevorLittle]

i'll attach a picture. Not sure what this is but my goniopora does NOT look happy as you can see

 

[USAFReefer]

Sponge? The goni looks a little sickly to me, they are a very hard coral to keep alive.

 

[TrevorLittle]

I have had it for awhile with no problems. As soon as this sponge looking thing pops up it has been retracted ever since. I feel like this sponge thing took a day or 2 to show up pretty quick. Will be monitoring and updating if anything changes. I've done some research on sponges like this saying they are harmless and almost beneficial but it's growing around the entire base of the goniopora and no where else

 

[Nate32185]

Hmmm. Maybe it's just coincidence. I have tons of different types of sponges in my tank and never had an issue. I have tried goniopora a couple times with no success. They would look good for about a month then slowly deteriorate. How long have you had the goniopora?

 

[TrevorLittle]

I have had the goniopora for 5-6 months. I have heard they are hard to keep but all my other LPS has since died except for this one and it has outlived the others by a lot. I see hermit crabs starting to pick at the sponge so i'll see if they will eat it all so i don't have to worry about it

 

[cloak]

+1 on sponge

Being that a Goniopora has a hard skeleton, that sponge could end up smothering that coral given time. (if it doesn't die from something else first) Definitely keep an eye on it.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2002/12/inverts

 

[hypostatic]

If it's the the sponge I'm thinking of, you can easily pull it off the frag