Algae , Sponge, something else?

Ron Reefman · Sep 17, 2018

Ok, I'll keep this thread alive by posting updates every so often. And I now have a list started. Norfolkgarden and ThunderGoose want babies the next time I see them.

ArowanaLover1902 · Sep 17, 2018

Add me to the list, it’d look great in my refugium

Ron Reefman · Sep 17, 2018

ArowanaLover1902 said:
Add me to the list, it’d look great in my refugium

Done.

ArowanaLover1902 · Sep 17, 2018

Thanks, I should revise that, add me to the list if it doesn’t hatch into an alien

bfishb · Sep 17, 2018

Definitely a demogorgon

Ghost463 · Sep 18, 2018

https://www.google.ca/amp/s/phys.or...reveals-axial-filaments-sea.amp?source=images

Ive been looking more into sponges for a few peeps as well. Some really wild and very unique!

Will keep my eyes open for anything else!!

Labridaedicted · Sep 18, 2018

I think @KJ nailed it. Most likely a Tethya sp.

Short article about Tethya seychellensis hosting algal growth which could explain the confusing nature of this specimen.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...Vaw05sSIhxUwySOG7x691KFu-&cshid=1537283103410

Ron Reefman · Sep 18, 2018

Labridaedicted said:
I think @KJ nailed it. Most likely a Tethya sp.

Short article about Tethya seychellensis hosting algal growth which could explain the confusing nature of this specimen.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...Vaw05sSIhxUwySOG7x691KFu-&cshid=1537283103410

I think you might be right. I googled what KJ stated 'Tethya sp' and what I saw didn't look like it. But in the article that Labridaedicted linked, the photo there (although only in B&W) looks like what I have. So if it's a sponge, we'll see if it survives. Now I'll do some studying and research to see if I can help keep it alive.

To KJ and Labridaedicted, thanks so much for the suggestions and the link.

.

KJ · Sep 18, 2018

Ron Reefman said:
To KJ and Labridaedicted, thanks so much for the suggestions and the link.

YW Ron

Labridaedicted · Sep 18, 2018

No problemo, amigo! Always happy to provide a good scientific article when I can

Redleg · Nov 4, 2018

Any updates on your alien orb, Ron.

Ron Reefman · Nov 5, 2018

I have it up high and at the back in my 50g tank, so it's getting mostly blue light. I have an all blue led fixture behind my Photon V2 fixture so the back of the tank looks more blue and therefore, slightly further away from the viewer. Kind of like being in the ocean. The sponge is a bit smaller that it was and it hasn't done any more spikes or little balls of green. It could be that it is struggling, like most sponges do in reef tanks, or it could be that it did it's reproductive thing when I got it home and now is more or less dormant and just being a sponge. It's a bit smaller than a golf ball, still very green and quite firm when you squeeze it, which is the way it was when I found it. I think if it were dying or rotting at least the outside would be getting soft and deteriorating, but it seems to be doing OK.

Thanks for asking.

Next time we go snorkeling in the Keys I will certainly be keeping a sharp eye out to see if I can find any more. I'd love to give one to a marine biologist I know and let her try to ID it better, even if that means cutting it open.

Butcher333 · Jul 27, 2020

Is it still alive? LoL.

SHNICI · Jul 30, 2020

Hi @Ron Reefman , is it really any update on this one? Sorry for asking that long after, but I reread the post and asking about x.
Please let us know what's there, and how is going please

Ron Reefman · Jul 31, 2020

The original specimen slowly, very slowly, over about 9 months, got smaller and smaller. Like most sponges do in a reef tank. I eventually lost track of it.

I tore down my 40g tank the end of 2019 and I found a small one I assume is an offspring of the original sample. It was about 1/2" in diameter and tucked under a small rock. I found it as I was pulling rocks with corals attached out of the tank to go to a holding tank while I set up a new 90g system. Unfortunately that tank had a system crash and I lost about 1/2 of the contents (i.e. all the inverts, a couple fish and all the sps corals). I never saw that specimen again.

Then a bout 6 weeks ago we were snorkeling off the same island in the Florida Keys and my wife found another smaller sample of the same thing. But it was firmly attached to a chunk of sps coral. The coral is illegal to collect in Florida, so I couldn't take it. And the specimen was well attached and I didn't want to destroy or damage it. So we left it where we found it.

So the next time we go to the Keys, hopefully in the next couple of months (depending on COVID-19 rules and hurricanes) we'll go to that island again and I'll be on a specific lookout for any more of that 'thing'.

I now believe it's a sponge. And the next time we see it, even if I can't collect it. We'll take photos and maybe even a video.

SHNICI · Jul 31, 2020

Ron Reefman said:
The original specimen slowly, very slowly, over about 9 months, got smaller and smaller. Like most sponges do in a reef tank. I eventually lost track of it.

I tore down my 40g tank the end of 2019 and I found a small one I assume is an offspring of the original sample. It was about 1/2" in diameter and tucked under a small rock. I found it as I was pulling rocks with corals attached out of the tank to go to a holding tank while I set up a new 90g system. Unfortunately that tank had a system crash and I lost about 1/2 of the contents (i.e. all the inverts, a couple fish and all the sps corals). I never saw that specimen again.

Then a bout 6 weeks ago we were snorkeling off the same island in the Florida Keys and my wife found another smaller sample of the same thing. But it was firmly attached to a chunk of sps coral. The coral is illegal to collect in Florida, so I couldn't take it. And the specimen was well attached and I didn't want to destroy or damage it. So we left it where we found it.

So the next time we go to the Keys, hopefully in the next couple of months (depending on COVID-19 rules and hurricanes) we'll go to that island again and I'll be on a specific lookout for any more of that 'thing'.

I now believe it's a sponge. And the next time we see it, even if I can't collect it. We'll take photos and maybe even a video.

Thank you Mate, thank you about the update!
Yep, sometimes bad things happen, but we have to go forward and over you know. Wish you best luck withe the rest of your reef systems!
Regarding the snorkeling, I'll, and probably most of us, will be very happy if you can show us something like, or you find the same specimen again, and hopefully that time you to be able to collect it, and to figure it out at the end what's it.
Wish you all my best!

Reefer Reboot · Jul 31, 2020

Every night lately while watching the news I keep seeing an image that I know I've seen before. Then it dawned on me. You have the mother cell of Covid-19! ;Hilarious Just kidding!! (Oh wait, are we allowed to talk about that which shall not be named now?) Anyhow, back to reality, I found these articles that confirm what has already been determined.

Sponge Hitch Hikers

The identifications of Sponges found within live rock and live sand

chucksaddiction.thefishestate.net

Nice find!

Ron Reefman · Aug 1, 2020

Nice find! This one looks like mine only mine is green rather than yellow.

sponge httpschucksaddiction.thefishestate.nethitchsponge.html.jpg

Paul B · Aug 1, 2020

I love that thing and would put 47 of them in my tank. I sent the picture to my diver, best friend in Key Largo to see if he finds them.

Reefer Reboot · Aug 1, 2020

I noticed that a lot of these were listed as deep water sponges. Since you found these in fairly shallow waters, I tend to agree with your assessment that algae may be playing a role in it's coloration.