ID: sponges? Safe, not safe?

lesserwhirls

Cleaner Shrimp
M.A.S.C Club Member
#1
Help! I have something growing around my nipples! Gorilla nipple zoas, that is ;-)



I pulled some off and here is what it looks like under sunlight against a styrofoam cooler lid:



It really is a neon yellow color.

It looks like some sort of sponge (syconoid?), but not sure. Any thoughts? Safe? Not safe?
 

FinsUp

According to my watch, the time is now.
M.A.S.C Club Member
#2
generally speaking, sponges are good. they're great filters, and highly desirable in a sump. I didn't mind prettier ones in my tank.

However, they're not good when they overgrow your corals, and should probably be removed. I used to remove the whole rock from the tank when I could, and pulled the sponges off away from the tank, to avoid them releasing spores and such, which could lead to a sponge explosion in the tank. Might have been an excess of caution on my part. Wouldn't be the first time.
 

lesserwhirls

Cleaner Shrimp
M.A.S.C Club Member
#3
Quick update on this. It turns out there was a small pit in my live rock, over which the gorilla nipples grew. Unknown to me, there was a snail that died under the zoa's in the pit, and that seems to be where all of the sponges originated (nasty stuff!). I lost quite a bit of my gorilla nipple zoas, but not all (they are fast growers, so it's ok). I still see a few sponges sprout up, and I go in every few days with a pair of tongs and pull them out. It's going to take some time, but eventually they will be gone.
 
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