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.
Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
Add me to the list, it’d look great in my refugium
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
YW RonTo KJ and Labridaedicted, thanks so much for the suggestions and the link.
Thank you Mate, thank you about the update!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.