Please Identify

[labar914]

My step-son left his tank behind when he moved, I finally got tired of cleaning it and decided to move everything to my 90. Here is a picture of something he has had for about 3 years. It started out about the size of a half dollar and is now about 8 inches x 6 inches. It has "Pores", but nothing seems to come out from them. It has changed colors frequently from darker brown to orange to white and back again. Can anybody identify it and give some information about placement, lighting, flow, feeding and all that good stuff. Thank You very much.

 

[reeffeer]

my best guess is a sponge...ihave some sponge in my tank but have not quite seen anything like this..why do i guess songe? because the way you described its growth and lack of anything else its boring quality leads me thgis direction. altghou not all sponges are boring they all require little or no light. they are filter feeders and you shoud keep debris from building on them.. which is what algea can do. they can lead to its demise since sponges should never be removed from the water. the air can trap in them and they will starve from the nutrition not reaching its core. if im wrong disregard everything ive just advised you good luck

 

[nm reef]

Sort of sounds like a blue ridge coral to me....and looks like one in the pic. The color changes you mentioned doesn't sound right for a blue ridge...but the appearence seems to fit. Is it hard .. does the outside surface have a redish...smooth texture. Have you ever seen small polyps extend from the surface? If a piece breaks off underneath you should see a bluish tint.
Then again ... I may be totally wrong.... :thinking:

 

[labar914]

Originally Posted by NM reef
Sort of sounds like a blue ridge coral to me....and looks like one in the pic. The color changes you mentioned doesn't sound right for a blue ridge...but the appearence seems to fit. Is it hard .. does the outside surface have a redish...smooth texture. Have you ever seen small polyps extend from the surface? If a piece breaks off underneath you should see a bluish tint.
Then again ... I may be totally wrong.... :thinking:
Seems to me that I remember my step-son telling me that he did see polyps at times, but I have never seen them in the time he has had it here (the tank was his and I didn't look very often). If it is not "happy" would this cause the color changes and lack of polyps? It is hard, with the exception of the edges, which are brittle. It usually had a redish brown smooth surface, now it is light pink/orangish (it has done this in the past). It has really overgrown the piece of rock, so I was able to take a photo of the underside. It does have a blue appearance where I can see. I haven't figured out how to take good photos of anything in the tank yet, so I hope you can see it. If this is an "unhappy" Blue Ridge coral, what would you recommend to perk it up? Does the additional info change what you think it may be? Could it be a sponge?
Thanks again!