White/translucent things growing over the rocks

[MikeO]

I have a small 10g coral quarantine tank, and there's what looks like white hair growing over the rocks. Could they be sponges? They're soft and fleshy.
I can easily scrape it off but it just grows/accumulates back. Any ideas of what this is and if it's harmful?

 

[Myxini]

Almost certain those are sponges. Not harmful, they are filter feeders.

 

[Hairyteeth]

I have this in the back chamber of one of my tanks as well, no idea what it is, but tagging along

 

[MikeO]

So if these are sponges, are they invasive? They're pretty much growing over everything.

 

[Rick's Reviews]

I have recently had an increase in these, from what I could find was sponges, great pictures btw , nothing harmful from what I have read up so far.
Does it appear to be like salt building up then little tubes appear, thanks

 

[Rick's Reviews]

My GSP was getting affected with this growth so I dipped and cleaned with toothbrush so I assume yes

 

[MikeO]

I have recently had an increase in these, from what I could find was sponges, great pictures btw , nothing harmful from what I have read up so far.
Does it appear to be like salt building up then little tubes appear, thanks

No build up or base to them, just soft tubes attached straight to the rocks.

 

[Rick's Reviews]

Thank you, yes mine seem similar
Not the best of pics but will get more tomorrow in white lights, just a sponge so no worries, I'll try to find more information, loads of articles and similar questions with minimum answers

 

[Hairyteeth]

Does your white tube grow on the other side of the rock in front of the power heads?

 

[MikeO]

Does your white tube grow on the other side of the rock in front of the power heads?

Yes they do, there are plenty on the other side right in the flow. Also, they don't seem to require much light because they're also growing in shaded areas and in the sump.

 

[DapperCuttlefish]

I have a small 10g coral quarantine tank, and there's what looks like white hair growing over the rocks. Could they be sponges? They're soft and fleshy.
I can easily scrape it off but it just grows/accumulates back. Any ideas of what this is and if it's harmful?

Thanks for posting, I was hoping to ask the same question. Came back from vacation and bam! There they were. Some have developed so much they have branches of there own, like little Christmas trees. All on the undersides of one of my live rock arches. Can’t get a good picture though, my gosh are convinced the camera is about them.

 

[Rick's Reviews]

This is what I have similar

 

[MikeO]

Thanks for all the feedback. Although I don’t consider sponges to be a pest and many reefers find them beneficial, the ones in my tank are somewhat invasive. For this reason, I’ve decided to remove them. So, after doing a bit of reading and experimenting, here’s what I’ve learned:

• Don’t try to manually remove it by scraping it off. This will only break it into smaller pieces and help it spread faster. Speaking by experience I can confirm that this is true.
• With one rock that had no corals attached to it, I removed it and let it sit next to the tank (i.e., air dry) overnight and then replaced it. This worked very well. I would say 95% of the sponge did not survive.
• I removed another rock that did have corals on it and using a syringe I delicately coated the sponge only with hydrogen peroxide. This took less than 5 minutes, I then let it sit for 1-2 minutes and then rinsed it off with salt water and replaced the rock in he tank. The next day 100% of the sponge was gone.

My un-scientific conclusion is that if you want to remove an invasive sponge:

• If you have access to remove what the sponge is growing on and are comfortable using H2O2 without getting any on corals, then go this route. I’m not sure exactly what would happen if full strength (standard 3%) peroxide were to touch a coral tissue, but I’m guessing it won’t be good. The air-drying alternative does work but is kind of pointless: if what you’re removing has no corals then there’s no risk of using H2O2, and if there are corals you probably don’t want to expose them to air for long periods.
• I understand that removing a rock (H2O2 or air dry) will certainly also kill any beneficial bacteria. If you have a lot of other live rock and only remove one at a time it probably won’t have an impact. This is for you to decide.
• If you can’t remove what the sponge is growing on for whatever reason, apparently injecting the sponge while in the tank with H2O2 will also kill it. I haven’t tried this and do not know if it works or how safe it is. For me this seemed very challenging because the sponge I have is made of many small strands and would take for ever to get it all.

Although I found a few articles discussing the topic, here’s a link to the one that I used as a guideline: https://reefkeepingworld.com/get-rid-of-sponges/

 

[Rick's Reviews]

Really helpful thank you
I have made the mistake by trying to brush off and I agree they do spread
Most of my rocks are set in place, do you think waters down hydrogen peroxide would be safe to target blast in small quantities without affecting any corals or fish

 

[MikeO]

Really helpful thank you
I have made the mistake by trying to brush off and I agree they do spread
Most of my rocks are set in place, do you think waters down hydrogen peroxide would be safe to target blast in small quantities without affecting any corals or fish

I wish I could answer but I honnestly don't know. If you decide to try it, please let us know how it goes.