Weird growth on coral

[huthain]

Is this a sponge? It seems to have grown all over my frogspawn covering the bones completely. It opens up just fine when lights are on added a picture of that too. Should i be worried or let it be?

 

[Tahoe61]

Yes.

Soft tooth brush gets the job done. Unless the coral reacts poorly to the sponge's location I would leave it be. If the coral is not fully opening then I would remove the sponge.

 

[BryanM]

Looks like its wrapped in a blanket :o

 

[huthain]

Looks like its wrapped in a blanket :o

Kinda cool not gonna lie

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I agree with Tahoe. Usually, sponges aren't going to be harmful. However, if it is impacting the coral's growth, then I would remove it.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Everyone else has pretty much covered it, but just to add:

Most sponges are completely harmless/beneficial, but some can be invasive and/or harmful to corals (thankfully, these are rare).

To tell if a sponge is chemically harmful: if a healthy, established coral starts closing up or looking to be in bad shape on the side closest to the sponge as the sponge grows closer to it, and nothing else has happened (lighting changes, parameter swings, pests, etc.) that could explain it, then the sponge is probably chemically harmful.

Chemically harmful sponges are very rare.

For invasive sponges: unless it shows signs of being chemically harmful or starts actively growing over and smothering a coral's flesh/polyps, it's harmless. These can grow over the skeletons of corals, around the base/stalks of corals, even up into the water column above corals (where they're over the coral but not growing on the flesh or polyps themselves), etc. without harming the coral at all - as long as the coral flesh and polyps can get food, light, and flow, the sponge is harmless.

Invasive sponges are moderately rare.

Invasive and chemically harmful sponges are incredibly rare.

 

[huthain]

Very helpful everyone thanks