Whats inside the rock?

[drukkosz]

Hello all,

I was braking a large piece of rock and found this:
I assume all the brown stuff are some kind of sponge but what are all those crystals? I have not seen anything like that before. and now the question is is it safe to put it back in the tank? I am in the middle of a tank upgrade.

 

[tsouth]

Making a leap here but this just looks like an unexpected surprise and you've cracked open a Geode. Is the outside of the rock porous at all? If not, then it may indeed be a geode. Does the brown material have any softness to it?

I know @Randy Holmes-Farley has encountered this before - I suspect he would be able to provide valuable insight here.

 

[DaneGer21]

Making a leap here but this just looks like an unexpected surprise and you've cracked open a Geode. Is the outside of the rock porous at all? If not, then it may indeed be a geode. Does the brown material have any softness to it?

I know @Randy Holmes-Farley has encountered this before - I suspect he would be able to provide valuable insight here.

Definitely reminds me of a geode

 

[kylebeano]

Not any kind of hitch-hikers im familiar with. Maybe cool in some freshwater planted scene aquarium though.

 

[drukkosz]

I thought the brown stuff was sponge but i soaked the rock overnight and its still hard so not sure.
took a short video so maybe it would be more helpful

 

[TriggerFinger]

Your video doesn’t play but I agree that looks like a geode. Very interesting!

 

[snorklr]

that just doesnt look like coral rock to me...more like limestone out of a cave with mineral deposits that flowed through it...usually brown stains are iron oxide

 

[fish farmer]

that just doesnt look like coral rock to me...more like limestone out of a cave with mineral deposits that flowed through it...usually brown stains are iron oxide

I was thinking the same thing.

The two little pieces in the center of the bottom picture look like sea origin live rock, but your's looks more terrestrial based and not the typical marco type mined rock. Where did you get this rock from?

 

[PacoPetty]

That is a very interesting rock and not like any other I have seen in an aquarium.

 

[drukkosz]

Here is a youtube video:

https://youtu.be/SKMAvO0ghpA

I believe that specific one came from my family members tank. He gave me few larger rocks after he shut down his tank. I had them all in my tank but If i remember corectly (few months ago) I removed that one because something was growing on it and I wasnt sure what it was.

 

[fish farmer]

Google Texas holey rock or lace rock. It is limestone based, I used to buy it for frags and remember some has crystal structures.

Pretty common to find in pet stores.

 

[bansheemama]

That looks like one of two very different and very similar things. Missouri druzy, or if there is any banding in the pieces where it broke apart, could be agatized druzy covered fossilized coral. I have a fifty pound piece I've been trying to id for years I picked up. It's made me crazy for years so thought I'd share what years of random searches has brought me.