Algae, sponge or something else?

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Dw79

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Noticed this about a week ago and as the title says, not sure what it is. Any help would be great.

20220414_184239.jpg 20220414_184247.jpg
 
I could go either way on algae or sponge.
Ya, I thought algae at first, but its in an area that gets good flow and doesn't seem to move, which made me wonder about some type of sponge
 
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Pick at it a bit and see if it comes off. Sponges can be toxic but it’s small?
Its about the size of my thumb nail. Figured I would try removing it this weekend when I'm doing my water change. Just find it fascinating that tanks can keep showing you things that you have never seen before.
 
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I'd say sponge. Good luck removing them. You likely have them elsewhere also and it'll be pretty futile to keep them from growing. Here's some stuff on sponges if you're interested:


Element cycling on tropical coral reefs.
This is Jasper de Geoij's ground breaking research on reef sponge finding some species process labile DOC 1000X faster than bacterioplankton. (The introduction is in Dutch but the content is in English.)

Sponge symbionts and the marine P cycle

Phosphorus sequestration in the form of polyphosphate by microbial symbionts in marine sponges

Differential recycling of coral and algal dissolved organic matter via the sponge loop.
Sponges treat DOC from algae differently than DOC from corals

A Vicious Circle? Altered Carbon and Nutrient Cycling May Explain the Low Resilience of Caribbean Coral Reefs

Surviving in a Marine Desert The Sponge Loop Retains Resources Within Coral Reefs
Dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen are quickly processed by sponges and released back into the reef food web in hours as carbon and nitrogen rich detritus.

Natural Diet of Coral-Excavating Sponges Consists Mainly of Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC)

The Role of Marine Sponges in Carbon and Nitrogen Cycles of COral Reefs and Nearshore Environments.
 
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I'd say sponge. Good luck removing them. You likely have them elsewhere also and it'll be pretty futile to keep them from growing. Here's some stuff on sponges if you're interested:


Element cycling on tropical coral reefs.
This is Jasper de Geoij's ground breaking research on reef sponge finding some species process labile DOC 1000X faster than bacterioplankton. (The introduction is in Dutch but the content is in English.)

Sponge symbionts and the marine P cycle

Phosphorus sequestration in the form of polyphosphate by microbial symbionts in marine sponges

Differential recycling of coral and algal dissolved organic matter via the sponge loop.
Sponges treat DOC from algae differently than DOC from corals

A Vicious Circle? Altered Carbon and Nutrient Cycling May Explain the Low Resilience of Caribbean Coral Reefs

Surviving in a Marine Desert The Sponge Loop Retains Resources Within Coral Reefs
Dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen are quickly processed by sponges and released back into the reef food web in hours as carbon and nitrogen rich detritus.

Natural Diet of Coral-Excavating Sponges Consists Mainly of Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC)

The Role of Marine Sponges in Carbon and Nitrogen Cycles of COral Reefs and Nearshore Environments.
Thank you for all the info. I now want to spend my weekend reading and doing research. Fascinating stuff!!
 
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The pictures are a little blurry for a good identification. Could we get close ups?
By the way, you have an awesome Collonista snail population!
This is the best I can get. Taking pics with my phone and the closer I get, the more blurry the pic gets. Ya, those little snails are everywhere. At night, hundreds of them come out.
 

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This is the best I can get. Taking pics with my phone and the closer I get, the more blurry the pic gets. Ya, those little snails are everywhere. At night, hundreds of them come out.
There is a type of plating encrusting coralline algae that looks similar .

either way . It looks great .
 
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