ID rock, coral

ticojon · Oct 5, 2025

On two occasions I picked up buckets of dry rock that once lived in someone's tank. I put these rocks in a bin with saltwater, a heater and circulation pump. I occasionally grab pieces from this bin and add/swap rock from my aquarium. I recently, for the first time, added a branching type rock. I considered it to be a fake looking bleached coral, so never considered adding it. Now that it's in the tank I noticed that it appears to have spots of red/purple growth it. I thought everything dies once the rock is dry. I'm so confused. I thought even algae dies once dry. Is this actual dead coral? Has something come back to life? Please take a look at these photos (not the best). Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks in advance.

vetteguy53081 · Oct 5, 2025

ticojon said:
On two occasions I picked up buckets of dry rock that once lived in someone's tank. I put these rocks in a bin with saltwater, a heater and circulation pump. I occasionally grab pieces from this bin and add/swap rock from my aquarium. I recently, for the first time, added a branching type rock. I considered it to be a fake looking bleached coral, so never considered adding it. Now that it's in the tank I noticed that it appears to have spots of red/purple growth it. I thought everything dies once the rock is dry. I'm so confused. I thought even algae dies once dry. Is this actual dead coral? Has something come back to life? Please take a look at these photos (not the best). Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks in advance.

If you are referring to the red dots , they are often revived when they get wet and known as foraminiferans which have a velvety feel to it and are harmless and quite pretty