Odd thing growing out of my palythoas

[thincat]

I got these white thread like growths coming out of a bunch of Palythoas and wanted to know if anyone knew what they were?

 

[HN1]

Are they coming from the actual connective tissue or the rock? Look at the base when they are totally closed.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Sponges.

I have those little white "roots" coming out of parts of my live rock where there are sponges creeping through. I just pull them out with tweezers when I get tired of looking at them.

 

[thincat]

Yea they look just like white string wrapping around my palytoas. I guess sponge is good. it does not seem to both them a bit. When I pull them out they are a little on the pink side. the wonders of a reef setup.
Here are a couple more shots:

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

I agree that the threads/roots themselves are not an issue, but keep an eye on any sponges that are growing amongst the polyps, and aren't the cute little ball-type ones. Sponges are good as far as filtering nutrients out of the water, but they can also be aggressive, with some types overgrowing corals. I've got one now that I'm doing battle with that is starting to creep through a colony of pipe organ coral.

 

[thincat]

Thanks for that information. I will keep and eye out on this one. It seems to string it's way through my polyps so I am watching it closely.