What’s this “worm” thing taking over my tank?

[Jay-h]

I don’t know if this is the right place to post this but I need help. Should I be worried about this “worm” like thing that is taking over my rocks and corals?

 

[Stealthreefer]

Not sure what we're looking at here.
You mean the little white things? Those are sponges and perfectly fine. They won't grow in the light.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I see sponges and pineapple sponges (the little tubes sticking off the bottom of the rock in the picture):

Pineapple sponges are pretty much entirely harmless, even if they're literally growing on the coral itself, they shouldn't cause any issues; most other sponges are harmless too.

A general rule of thumb that I use for sponges: if it's not chemically harming the coral or growing up over the top of the coral and smothering it, the sponge is probably harmless.

In cases like this where the sponge is growing around the base of the coral, I usually recommend removal for the aquarist's peace of mind, as there's a chance that the sponge may smother the coral in time (granted there's a decent chance it won't too, but the sponge usually isn't worth the stress to most people).

If your corals are struggling, then I'd assume the sponges are not the cause. On the small chance that they are, or if you just want to remove them regardless, see the quotes below:

The best way I've heard to control sponge growth at this point is to use a steel straw to scrape and siphon out the sponge you want to remove. Sometimes you can create bad conditions for them and kill them off that way, but that's typically much harder and not always effective.

Some other sponge removal methods:

Other suggestions include exposing the sponge to air (obviously not a guaranteed solution, and definitely not viable for this situation); hydrogen peroxide dipping the sponge (again, not viable here); injecting the sponge with hydrogen peroxide, vinegar, boiling water, or air; microbubbles in the display; and a few more. Predation is not usually a good solution for this issue

P.S. Typically posts like this would go in the "Hitchhiker & Critter ID" forum here on R2R.

 

[cdemoss01]

I don’t know if this is the right place to post this but I need help. Should I be worried about this “worm” like thing that is taking over my rocks and corals?

Pineapples are common in newer tanks. Just get some peppermint shrimp too eat them.