ID please...

[pegasus]

I have something yellow encrusting one of my rocks, and is starting to spread to an adjoining rock. The included picture shows it is growing around the anthelia, so this is fairly new growth. At first glance it looks similar to the yellow sponge that grows on the surrounding rocks, but upon closer inspection, it doesn't have the cottony texture or water passages like the sponge. If you look closely, you can see a few small patches of sponge (slightly darker) growing on it's surface. It is extremely hard, like some form of calcareous coral. It looks to be about 1/4" thick in places, and I haven't been able to find anything on the internet that resembles it. It doesn't appear to be a type of encrusting monti or porite, but I could be wrong. It has a bumpy texture on the surface, similar to chicken skin... lol! Any help will be appreciated.

 

[smfoister]

Interesting... yellow coralline? Could be... if so that's pretty rare and really neat. Have you touched it? I dare you.

 

[silverado61]

I know this is an old thread but try blowing water on it with a turkey baster and see if you get a reaction out of the "chicken bumps". I've got a monti that I thought was dead until I gently blew water on it and the teany tiny polyps withdrew. I'm glad I didn't pull it out now.

 

[pegasus]

Okay, I'm officially a dumbass. When I first noticed this yellow mass starting to grow, I poked at it with a small fiberglass rod. It felt like it was as a rock. It has grown considerably over the past few months, and I decided to poke it again tonight. It must have been extremely thin the first time I tried, and it sounded and felt like I was rubbing a rock. Tonight was different... very different. It gave. It is actually springy. Not like a soft sponge, but a rather stiff one... almost like foam rubber. It's extremely dense compared to the yellow sponge balls that grow elsewhere in the tank. Crap... I had high hopes for this mysterious creature... lol!

 

[aduvall]

So what does this mean? What is it?

 

[pegasus]

Looks like bang guy was right... it believe it's some kind of sponge. A very dense, encrusting sponge. Unlike the yellow sponge growing all over my tank in the shadowy areas, this sponge doesn't mind fairly bright light. That's strange, because I've done extensive searches for yellow sponge types, and have never found anything like it. Time to renew my search...

 

[smfoister]

New species discovered. We'll name it "Spongecus Pegasusi"

 

[pegasus]

I love the name!!! Now I have to figure out how to market one of the rarest corals on Earth. Hmm... lol!