Orange things in holes/tunnels on hammer stem

MnFish1 · May 23, 2019

P-Dub said:
That'd be them...

To me they look nothing like the orange spots on the OP's coral - perhaps I'm blind.

erk · May 23, 2019

They look kind of cool. Do they eventually kill the host coral?

P-Dub · May 23, 2019

erk said:
They look kind of cool. Do they eventually kill the host coral?

They sure do. Look cool and kill...

MnFish1 · May 23, 2019

Can you find some other pictures that look like those? - where the sponge is raised over the coral (not on active coral - but instead on the base)? Just can't find it. I mean its one frag - maybe the op should just return it - but - I'm just curious - because I would never have even noticed these microscopic orange spots - its for my education

P-Dub · May 23, 2019

MnFish1 said:
To me they look nothing like the orange spots on the OP's coral - perhaps I'm blind.

Maybe these look more like it to you?

MnFish1 · May 23, 2019

P-Dub said:
Maybe these look more like it to you?

No - actually. the last one is ah orange picture - with no context (CANT EXPAND IT0 -I have no clue what they are - I think its a non-issue.

P-Dub · May 24, 2019

MnFish1 said:
No - actually. the last one is ah orange picture - with no context (CANT EXPAND IT0 -I have no clue what they are - I think its a non-issue.

Well, the last photo is a cropped, as close up and clear as I could get, photo of one of the sponges in the OP's post. You can see, or at least I am able with my reading glasses, the similar lattice structure of the sponge in both that particular photo and the one to the left of it.
Regardless, look out for it in the future. You can see it with the naked eye and I can even see it without my reading glasses

. Poke at it with a toothpick and you'll see it is a sponge. I really hope that you do not ever get them though.

MyOtherCarIsAFishtank · May 24, 2019

When I couldn't eradicate it with the traditional sponge killing methods, and since the coral was reaching the end of the time that I could keep it out of a full quarantine tank but I didn't want to risk everything in that quarantine tank, I decided to cut the infected portions off. With the slightest trim, the entire base collapsed because it was full of an orange good that I gather is the sponge. This thing was crazy infested, and I'm glad I didn't put it in my tank. I'll be seeking a refund from Aqua SD. I'm surprised they didn't catch this because it was like two dozen holes all around the base and they were bright orange.

MnFish1 · May 24, 2019

MyOtherCarIsAFishtank said:
When I couldn't eradicate it with the traditional sponge killing methods, and since the coral was reaching the end of the time that I could keep it out of a full quarantine tank but I didn't want to risk everything in that quarantine tank, I decided to cut the infected portions off. With the slightest trim, the entire base collapsed because it was full of an orange good that I gather is the sponge. This thing was crazy infested, and I'm glad I didn't put it in my tank. I'll be seeking a refund from Aqua SD. I'm surprised they didn't catch this because it was like two dozen holes all around the base and they were bright orange.

THAT IS AN AWESOME FIND... Amazing. Good advice @P-Dub

P-Dub · May 24, 2019

MyOtherCarIsAFishtank said:
When I couldn't eradicate it with the traditional sponge killing methods, and since the coral was reaching the end of the time that I could keep it out of a full quarantine tank but I didn't want to risk everything in that quarantine tank, I decided to cut the infected portions off. With the slightest trim, the entire base collapsed because it was full of an orange good that I gather is the sponge. This thing was crazy infested, and I'm glad I didn't put it in my tank. I'll be seeking a refund from Aqua SD. I'm surprised they didn't catch this because it was like two dozen holes all around the base and they were bright orange.

Good call just removing the whole base. It is a nasty, nasty organism.

MyOtherCarIsAFishtank · May 24, 2019

Talked to AquaSD. They are taking care of me. Good people.

P-Dub · May 24, 2019

MyOtherCarIsAFishtank said:
Talked to AquaSD. They are taking care of me. Good people.

They are. I stopped by their facility while visiting San Diego. Nice operation too.

eggplantparrot · May 24, 2019

MyOtherCarIsAFishtank said:
When I couldn't eradicate it with the traditional sponge killing methods, and since the coral was reaching the end of the time that I could keep it out of a full quarantine tank but I didn't want to risk everything in that quarantine tank, I decided to cut the infected portions off. With the slightest trim, the entire base collapsed because it was full of an orange good that I gather is the sponge. This thing was crazy infested, and I'm glad I didn't put it in my tank. I'll be seeking a refund from Aqua SD. I'm surprised they didn't catch this because it was like two dozen holes all around the base and they were bright orange.

man the ocean is filled with cool stuff eh?

Coral4coral · May 28, 2020

All I did was put glue over

Coral4coral · May 28, 2020

I’ve literally seen massive colony’s with these sponges so when exactly does it affect the coral ?

MyOtherCarIsAFishtank · May 28, 2020

Coral4coral said:
I’ve literally seen massive colony’s with these sponges so when exactly does it affect the coral ?

It was killing mine. The whole interior was bored out and full of sponge. The skeleton structure was like a thin sheet of ice that completely collapsed when I even started to trim it.

Like other sponges, very few things eat them, and they can grow quickly. I would guess they can still get nutrients from the top of the coral (the normal fleshy part), so I would be concerned glue wouldn't do it alone. Personally, I would never put these in a tank that had things I cared about in it.

P-Dub · May 28, 2020

Coral4coral said:
All I did was put glue over

I sure would be interested in how the coral does in the long run with this method. I am imagining a rotting sponge within the skeleton... just doesn't sound good...

Coral4coral · May 28, 2020

MyOtherCarIsAFishtank said:
It was killing mine. The whole interior was bored out and full of sponge. The skeleton structure was like a thin sheet of ice that completely collapsed when I even started to trim it.

Like other sponges, very few things eat them, and they can grow quickly. I would guess they can still get nutrients from the top of the coral (the normal fleshy part), so I would be concerned glue wouldn't do it alone. Personally, I would never put these in a tank that had things I cared about in it.

I definitely agree with not putting in the display but as far as pest go I feel you can eradicate these with nice cut from a band saw unless it’s too late

Coral4coral · May 28, 2020

P-Dub said:
I sure would be interested in how the coral does in the long run with this method. I am imagining a rotting sponge within the skeleton... just doesn't sound good...

I agree but I’m thinking the best way is to just chop off what you can glue the rest and keep it in a quarantine tank. after dealing with some sps pests that can seriously just destroy a tank in a matter of months this doesn’t seem to bad idk, very interesting though I have literally just seen these start to pop up recently and apparently it’s a problem in or actually reefs around the world