As far as I know, yes. I understand that if you put base rock in with live rock over a period of time (don't know how long), it will eventually "seed" the base rock so that it becomes live rock. :happyfish
Is it like a round ball with littile arms coming out from it. To me it looks like a toadstool. Here is a pic of my toadstool it is not the best pic but does it look something like it