Is this sponge or tunicate or something else?

[Cthulukelele]

These red patches have een popping up in splotches on a few of my rocks. They kinda undulate in the flow and occasionally twitch. What are they

 

[ndrwater]

Kinda need a better pic to tell for sure. Can you get a shot with less blue?

 

[Cthulukelele]

Tried!

 

[ndrwater]

Looks like some macro algae. If so, definitely a good thjng

 

[Cthulukelele]

Huh! Wonder where it came from. Any guess as to what kind?

 

[ndrwater]

All kinds of weird stuff can and does come in on live rock.
As for a name? Above my pay grade, but you could probably Google "red macro algae" and get close

 

[Cthulukelele]

Should I be worried about it taking over the tank?

 

[ndrwater]

I seriously doubt it.
If you have concerns, you could remove it.

 

[Cthulukelele]

Tbh even if it took over, it is quite aesthetically pleasing under the blue lights. A nice hitchhiker for once! Woot! Thanks!

 

[Cthulukelele]

Also for some reason me typing woot on this forum auto-hyperlinked to a woot sale of an Amazon kindle lol!

 

[norfolkgarden]

Is it strictly on the top of the rocks?

We get something of a similar color that is a little squishy but it is usually buried under the rock overhangs. Some type of sponge.

Just wanted to make sure that those were not flat worms. They don't really look like it. But I have flatworm paranoia.

Have you had a chance to look up red macro algae on some of the ID sites?

 

[Cthulukelele]

Yeah they don't move so it is def not flatworms. It has been hard to identify because it is still tiny. Yes it is only on the top of rocks. It def preferentially grows in well-lit spots

 

[Cthulukelele]

So an update. Some of the red things have started to grow these BRIGHT red tubey things with brown frilly cones on them. Still think it is macroalgae?

 

[Cthulukelele]

A closer shot