White Sponge?

[worm5406]

OK.. I have looked in a few places to find this with no luck yet...

In looking at the rock on the right:

It is hard and kinda bubbly... but I think it is just going with the natural curves of the rock. There is a patch on the left and a patch on the right also, with some brown algie in the middle (not related... the brown was already there. I turned this rock over when adding some other live rock at the very start...

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/rbvq-PWJQivJF1TD9sYsthDXUPzYGINoAnhxP13obHw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-bk6X9MoJXnY/T_4T35bCDuI/AAAAAAAA1Pc/g9oMq1LWpaE/s640/2012-07-11_20-01-07_767.jpg" height="361" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/100665886462363731490/FishTank2012?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCK765-eR0cChGg&feat=embedwebsite">FishTank 2012</a></td></tr></table>

On the left, you can see the vein at the bottom of it. This was live rock I got from the LFS when first cycling my tank. It had a vein on it then, but it was just hanging there. Now it looks like it sprouted and started to grow.

Here is a different rock (right beside the other one)
<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/YVZIRrYm6HPqC-ppC4GyLhDXUPzYGINoAnhxP13obHw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Dme0SuafGpk/T_4T7-trLgI/AAAAAAAA1Pk/GaQ_QcQ9qyM/s800/2012-07-11_20-01-31_609.jpg" height="451" width="800" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/100665886462363731490/FishTank2012?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCK765-eR0cChGg&feat=embedwebsite">FishTank 2012</a></td></tr></table>

My snails, hermits, and peppermint shrimp have gone over it and neither ran or ate it.

 

[snupa]

it could very well be a sponge but nothing to worry about. if the rock is new wait to see what happens to it in a couple of weeks. I had a few things on my live rock when I got it that went away after about a month of putting it into the tank

 

[worm5406]

I am more curious what it is...

 

[bach2pilot]

Did you touch it? If it feels spongy, it's probably a sponge.

 

[worm5406]

I had a chance to touch it last night while doing some maintenance. It is hard, like calcium deposit. It is strange because it has a vein on one of them.

 

[zeebies]

Looks like a sponge to me. Worm, do you have access to a microscope?

I've been able to identify some sponges in my tank by taking a small piece of what I thought was a sponge and doing a simple preparation with bleach. When viewed under the microscope, you see spicules (looks like glass shards) and this can confirm a sponge.

Lemme know if you need the recipe or you can look it up on the Web.

 

[BDN]

It could be coralline that died and bleached out

 

[worm5406]

The thing is, it was not on the rock before. It is like it is growing, or something.

Do you see the vein on the one picture? The first one, right at the bottom. It is like a vein/root.

 

[zeebies]

Sponges do just appear in our tanks sometimes. I have a chicken liver sponge on one rock and it is receding. On another rock I recently discovered a bright white sponge that is definitely growing.

Though some people find them unsightly, they are generally a sign of a healthy tank and they filter your water :thumbsup: