Filamentous hitchhiker, spreads to other rocks.

[SG1024]

I've had a rock with polyps on it for about a year now. Approximately 5 months ago I noticed this spongey filamentous material intertwining up the stalks of the polyps and eventually extending beyong the polyps and sometimes preventing them from opening. This material grows quite rapidly and has spread to nearby rocks.

When it touches other corals they don't seem to be harmed. I can peel this stuff off the polyps pretty easily.. It's soft and spongy, like a salad mushroom. But it grows back quickly.

I posted to another board and someone suggested it was foraminiferans but I don't think so. For one, I have several foraminiferans in other tanks which look EXACTLY like the ones in the hhfaq. This looks nothing like that... the stringy material is much thicker.

Anyhow, the attached pics are as follows.

DCP1529 = the "material" 4 weeks ago
DCP1566 = the "material" today
DCP1563 = extension onto a nearby rock

I'm thinking about giving a lugol's dip, but that won't do anything to the parts that have spread.

Any insight into this would be greatly appreciated.

Dave

 

[SG1024]

I was hoping someone would be able to ID that stuff...

but... anyway..

I saw a tank at a lfs which was totally infested with this stuff. The worker there (they are generally knowledgable) said it was a type of sponge and that it flourishes in poor water conditions. He said to remove the stuff from rocks with a toothbrush.

I used the toothbrush on the rocks AND those polyps... We'll see how they fare after the scrubbing they got.

Dave

 

[wade1]

I'm guessing the LFS person is correct that its a sponge. Although it would be odd for it to grow well in higher light areas of the tank. Generally not harmful to other inhabitants.

Wade