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odle57

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Jan 21, 2009
Messages
28
Location
Hillsboro, IL
Can anyone help me figure this out. This started growing on my live rock a few days after purchase.hope there is enough pics. it has now grown solid over that part of the rock and is soft to the touch...
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Doesn't look like any sponge I've ever seen, but I'm thinking that's what it is. Kinda scary. I'd wait for others to give their opinions, but if it was in my tank and it was growing quick, it'd be outta there!
 
Well it has grown over a certain part of the LR and stopped . It is smooth and light blue with little "snowflake" like imprints on it. There are three spots on my LR that look like this but the biggest one got the film. But as of writing this it is starting to deterioriate. I will just have to watch.
 
Unless my eyes deceive me, I see corralites underneath, which leads me to believe it's a fungus-like growth we often call "cheese" in the coral world. If that is the case...
 
If that is the case...

Go out and get crackers?

:confused:


Regarding the question about how to remove a sponge, I've just taken my large handy pair of 8" long tweezers (a must-have in this hobby) and scrapped off/pulled off any obnoxious sponges, while keeping a siphon tube nearby to catch any floaty bits. Then a good scrubbing with a toothbrush with the siphon tube finishes up the job. But they normally come back since you can't really get it all.

Fungal growth sounds like a better ID because it sounds like this thing is growing quick... which the big "blobby" sponges don't seem to do - at least in my tank.
 
Well I went ahead and pulled it off. There was no base to this to indicate the aiptasia, just a slimy covering. I removed and cleaned with a toothbrush. Now that its gone can you tell me if this is the corralites that were mentioned before? If this mystery film returns should I eliminate that part of the rock? And there is a little orange sponge next to it. Are these bad? I hope the pics can help? I need as much advice on the SW tank as possible.
 

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I think when Innovator mentioned about corralites, he meant that he thought he could see coral skeltons under the white stuff. (At least that's what I *think* he meant! He'll let us know soon!) I think it was just the rounded surface of your rock that was making it look like that.

The picture you've attached is either a dead coral skeleton, or a live one that's really unhappy. Can't really tell for sure with the picture. Time will tell if it's alive. Either way, it's not bad to have in the tank.

Did the mystery slime come off in a sheet, or did it just kind of crumble and come off in chunks?

[Edit: OK... after looking at the pictures more, I'm confused. Did you take the rock out to clean it and put it back in a different position? Was that white slime covering the coral skeleton that is in the center of the last picture you took? ]
 
The mystery sheet did come off in pieces. But it was in the process of breaking up in my tank anyway. I did move it around in the tank to try to get it as clean as i could. Thanks for everyones advice/help. VERY HELPFUL!
 
Exactly as I thought. Yes, the corralites are the skeletal "craters" you see (actually they are the corralite walls that surrounds the corralite). The "cheese" is a pathogen identified, according to Borneman, as Beggiatoa (possibly secondary). There is no cure at this point in time other than fragging or dips and I will venture to say the coral would not survive such a % of coverage as yours.
 
Thanks for the help everyone! Hopefully it will be gone for good. And as far as the little orange sponge...is he okay or does he need to go?
 
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