id please, purple and green.. feels like taffy

[shlap]

Ignore the hair algae in the top left I've got this puple (top left) and lime green (bottom right)stuff all over my live rock. It feels smooth & slippery to the touch, like taffy. Is this a sponge of some sort?

 

[yosemite sam]

Yes, they look like sponges. I have several different hitchhicker sponges on my rocks. If given the right conditions, they will grow out.

 

[coral keeper]

Originally Posted by Yosemite Sam
http:///forum/post/3028673
Yes, they look like sponges. I have several different hitchhicker sponges on my rocks. If given the right conditions, they will grow out.
+1

 

[shlap]

Thanks for the insight guy! If you don't mind, could you elaborate on this ...
If given the right conditions, they will grow out.
What sort of conditions? Are we just talking 0 PH, Nitrates, and Nitrites and weekly water changes? Do you mean they'll go away with good water?

 

[yosemite sam]

Many of the hitchhiker sponges that we commonly find in our tanks are filter feeders and not photosynthetic. In general, these like shady places so algae and diatoms can't grow on them but some seem to do well out in the open, as well. They feed off the water collumn, but I've kept tanks where these sponges have done well without any specific feedings. There are many many different kinds of sponges, so it's hard to give any specifics on the ones you have, but lots of people have kept hitchhiker sponges in normal reef tank environments.