Acan with trabeculated stuff growing

[NitroJoe]

So a few weeks ago I added two blue Orphek bars. It was too much PAR and I noticed a few corals pulling back and realized quickly to make adjustments. All corals which were “singed” are recovering now, and I thought this Acan was also recovering well. This morning I noticed this clear, hazy white trabeculated “growth” all around it. Is this early skeleton? I did see a little of it a few days ago and wondered if it was a result of inflaming the poor thing. I noticed today another Acan (which is better shaded) does not have this though which sent up red flags. Anyone know what that is?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

That’s a sponge that seems to be invasive (not necessarily harmful, just invasive). Given that the polyps are out, it doesn’t seem to be bothering the coral chemically, so the thing to watch out for is if it starts growing over and smothering coral (by covering the polyps).

It may be harmless and never grow over the corals, but in cases like this I generally suggest removal for one’s peace of mind. So, if you decide that you want to remove it, see the quotes below:

if you can do this is a bowl of saltwater out of the tank (I don't recommend adding the water to the tank after) and rinse with clean saltwater (not from the bowl) afterwards, that would be even better.

The best way I've heard to control sponge growth at this point is to use a steel straw to scrape and siphon out the sponge you want to remove. Sometimes you can create bad conditions for them and kill them off that way, but that's typically much harder and not always effective.

Some other sponge removal methods:

Other suggestions include exposing the sponge to air (obviously not a guaranteed solution, and definitely not viable for this situation); hydrogen peroxide dipping the sponge (again, not viable here); injecting the sponge with hydrogen peroxide, vinegar, boiling water, or air; microbubbles in the display; and a few more. Predation is not usually a good solution for this issue

Basically, if the sponges have enough food and enough trace elements (which for most sponges includes silicates) to meet their needs, then you’ll see their populations booming.

If you can figure out what’s allowing them to thrive in your tank, then you can deal with that root cause and get rid of them.

 

[NitroJoe]

That’s a sponge that seems to be invasive (not necessarily harmful, just invasive). Given that the polyps are out, it doesn’t seem to be bothering the coral chemically, so the thing to watch out for is if it starts growing over and smothering coral (by covering the polyps).

It may be harmless and never grow over the corals, but in cases like this I generally suggest removal for one’s peace of mind. So, if you decide that you want to remove it, see the quotes below:

Thanks for that info. If I were to manually pare the sponge back, is it hard to remove or does it peel off pretty easily?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Thanks for that info. If I were to manually pare the sponge back, is it hard to remove or does it peel off pretty easily?

It should come off pretty easily.