What’s this thing taking over my tank?

[Jay-h]

Can someone please help me find out what’s this “worm” like thing taking over my rocks and corals? Should I be worried?

 

[El Toro]

Likely a sponge. Are your lights making it purple?

 

[Jay-h]

Likely a sponge. Are your lights making it purple?

No, the purple thing you see in the picture is a little GSP frag I had, I’m almost convinced that the “worms” around it killed it, because shortly after I took those pictures (2 weeks ago) the GSP stopped opening up until today. I’ll try to take a better picture.

 

[JTP424]

If it's the little white puffs you're talking about, Pineapple sponges. Technically harmless filter feeder. But if you don't like them you can remove them.

 

[Jay-h]

If it's the little white puffs you're talking about, Pineapple sponges. Technically harmless filter feeder. But if you don't like them you can remove them.

what about these ones that looks like worms?

 

[FyreTex]

Watching this post because that would freak me out if it was in my tank. I hope somebody has an answer.

 

[brandon429]

ID doesn't matter though. only action set choices such as

-do nothing
-remove each rock, surgically scrape and clean that off from every visible surface, setting rocks back
if some is on the sand, cleaning it out too, because you didn't want to take a chance on a tank invasion. ID does not matter in the option set

this relates to all reef invasions, not just sponge ones. ID has nothing to do with tank invasion work. when it comes to sponges and tunicates, some are invasive and some aren't

some die back, and some dont. choosing option one relies on luck in several steps

choosing option 2 is taking control over a reef tank, without luck. anything that grows back fast after you've cleaned it was clearly going to be an invasion...the initial cleaning is how you gauge your enemy

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

what about these ones that looks like worms?

Those are sponges too, though a different kind than the pineapple sponges. Based on the growth, they seem to be invasive (not necessarily harmful, but they could be).

As a general rule of thumb with sponges, if they’re not growing over and smothering corals, they’re most likely harmless.

With invasive ones like this, they’re typically still harmless, but some of them can end up smothering corals, so I usually suggest getting rid of them too. For removal of the sponges:

if you can do this is a bowl of saltwater out of the tank (I don't recommend adding the water to the tank after) and rinse with clean saltwater (not from the bowl) afterwards, that would be even better.

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

Basically, if the sponges have enough food and enough trace elements (which for most sponges includes silicates) to meet their needs, then you’ll see their populations booming.

If you can figure out what’s allowing them to thrive in your tank, then you can deal with that root cause and get rid of them.

 

[brandon429]

though not the same invasion type I threw out a ten year old acan frag last year/white sponge on bottom that came back after twenty removal attempts. I guess there's a hidden optn 3: don't own any surface with an invasive sponge.

 

[Jay-h]

Those are sponges too, though a different kind than the pineapple sponges. Based on the growth, they seem to be invasive (not necessarily harmful, but they could be).

As a general rule of thumb with sponges, if they’re not growing over and smothering corals, they’re most likely harmless.

With invasive ones like this, they’re typically still harmless, but some of them can end up smothering corals, so I usually suggest getting rid of them too. For removal of the sponges:

Amazing information brother, thanks a lot!