What is this white thing on my torch?

[Reef.Blue]

Anyone know what the white object is on my torch? It occasionally pokes a little white fan like thing out of it. Could this be a barnacle. Is it harmful to the torch?

 

[NMU1963]

Anyone know what the white object is on my torch? It occasionally pokes a little white fan like thing out of it. Could this be a barnacle. Is it harmful to the torch?

Could be a pineapple songe and harmless

Anyone know what the white object is on my torch? It occasionally pokes a little white fan like thing out of it. Could this be a barnacle. Is it harmful to the torch?

could be a pineapple songe and harmless

 

[Reef.Blue]

Could be a pineapple songe and harmless

could be a pineapple songe and harmless

Is there a reason why the sponge would have a hard outer shell?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

By chance, do you have pics of it from a different angle?

 

[Reef.Blue]

I’m not currently home but I will send some later

 

[NMU1963]

Could be a pineapple songe and harmless

Is there a reason why the sponge would have a hard outer shell?

Could be the holdfast which is how they attach to the base. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23677340/

 

[mdb_talon]

I can't see from pic, but based off white hard shell in torch my bet is barnacle of some sort

 

[vetteguy53081]

Anyone know what the white object is on my torch? It occasionally pokes a little white fan like thing out of it. Could this be a barnacle. Is it harmful to the torch?

Its a tunicate sponge and a filter feeder and will continue to grow. You will have to inject it with air or vinegar to stop its growth or place rag in container of tank water and pull off gently with a dental pick or Small crochet needle