Something rootlike growing on my GSP plug.

[Johnny Walker]

What is this growing on my GSP plug?

Some sort of Forams?? Should i be concerned, and If so, how do i get rid of it?

 

[Saltyreef]

Looks like a type of sponge. Try exposing it to some air for a minute or 2.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

@ISpeakForTheSeas

 

[Johnny Walker]

Looks like a type of sponge. Try exposing it to some air for a minute or 2.

As in take it out of the tank for a minute? Or use something like an air pump/stone?

When I use the baster on it, it doesn't react at all. I also try scraping it a bit and it seems to be soft and again, didn't react to being touched.

I'll try and get some air on it and report back.

Thanks in advance for the expertise

 

[Saltyreef]

Yes take it out of the tank for a minute or 2.

 

[Johnny Walker]

Im working today, so sorry for the delays in the responses here. I pulled it out of the tank for a bit here(first time I've cut gsp, yay) whatever it is didn't really react. We'll see what it looks like in a few hours I suppose. I also was able to scrape some of it off. But it's almost too delicate to pull off in large strands. While it was I got some close-ups with my cheap digital microscope. Hopefully that helps.

 

[keagan]

Definitely a sponge taking it out of water will likely kill it.

 

[Johnny Walker]

so i had it out of the water for probably 2-3 real minutes. I just rested the plug against the glass right now. but i sounds like I should be safe to glue it to the glass again.

Thx to everyone who responded

 

[EnterName]

The sponge is probably covered in coral mucus and water that is still held in place due to surface tension. This means there is a good chance of it surviving the short exposure to air. A few cells are enough to fully rebuild a new sponge so I wouldn't bet on the issue being solved.

Some sponges are harmless filter feeders but others are toxin-producing and coral-overgrowing nuisances. It can be really difficult to remove them due to their regenerative capabilities which you can see in action in post #82 and #83 in my microscopy thread.

 

[Johnny Walker]

Great information. I did a bit of reading and it seems like they need to be out long enough to "ingest"(or whatever the sponges version of that is) some air. And they they aren't able to push the air out of their bodies. I will keep an eye on it. Maybe pull the gap out for 10 minutes or something.

I will definitely read through your thread here when I get a minutes