Hitchiker ID !!!!

[stachy]

I just purchased this Mushroom rock and when I got it home I found all of this yellow sponge type stuff growing all over the rock. I figure its just a harmless yellow sponge, but just want to make sure. I will wait to put it into the tank, leaving it in the bag.

 

[valgae]

yep sponge

 

[digitydash]

well with it being out of the water it probly won't be for long most sponge does not like air.

 

[perfectdark]

So it was a sponge...

 

[zeke92]

yeah ive heard many times that a few seconds of air could kill a sponge. So you HAD a sponge..maby you still have it.
i also heard dead sponges create tons of ammonia, so you might consider taking the sponge off..but i'm sure a sponge expert will enlighten us more.

 

[reefkprz]

poriferans (sponges) are some of my favorite animals
yes its a sponge.
yes most sponges are(can be) very sensitave to air contact
it may or may not kill the sponge depending on pore size and if you can purge trapped air out of the sponge when you place it in the tank. air kills sponge by blocking the channels that water passes through, the flaggela inside the sponge are incapable of pushing the air out.
and yes again sponges are/can be some of the most noxious and toxic creatures when expiriencing die off in tank. some are quite toxic some are just a mass of rotting mesohyl and other fancy names for sponge flesh.
the specimen your holding is a type that is fairly hardy with a medium/large pore stucture, so purging air from it may be as simple as submerging the rock then pressing on the sponge with your fingers to squeeze air out.

 

[stachy]

Thanks, I gave it a slight beating, LOL. I didn't see any air escape, but I will keep an eye on it for die off.