What is this

[kbrabble]

I have these growing in my sump. Tank is doing great. but these things are multiplying like crazy.

 

[KrisReef]

I really want to make up a story about these growths, like a creative writing exercise that we used to do in English literature classes, but as much fun as I might have I would be risking my enviable reputation for having a reliable, encyclopedic memory recall for obscure invertebrates that grow in our reef tanks.

I have seen these kinds of things before and often they seem to be categorized with sponges as they look similar to the common "pineapple sponge" except that they have a different body shape that somewhat resembles a sea cucumber with the spikey bumps along the body.

Is it a bryozoan?

I don't think that it represents a threat to the coral or fishes or other invertebrates in your tank but things like these that encrust in our tanks can create a chore to keep them from obstructing the glass.

And, so without further assemblage of words, and for a possibly better indentification, @ISpeakForTheSeas -may have positive id for us?

This post is dedicated to Ms Steinmetz who's short skirts and provocative leg crossing behaviors provided enormous amounts of stimulus for developing young minds that were considering the power of written language to share knowledge and information about the amazingly compliated and intracate ecosystem that originated from the Word spoken and unfolded into the world we struggle to categorize the life forms present therein.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I really want to make up a story about these growths, like a creative writing exercise that we used to do in English literature classes, but as much fun as I might have I would be risking my enviable reputation for having a reliable, encyclopedic memory recall for obscure invertebrates that grow in our reef tanks.

I have seen these kinds of things before and often they seem to be categorized with sponges as they look similar to the common "pineapple sponge" except that they have a different body shape that somewhat resembles a sea cucumber with the spikey bumps along the body.

Is it a bryozoan?

I don't think that it represents a threat to the coral or fishes or other invertebrates in your tank but things like these that encrust in our tanks can create a chore to keep them from obstructing the glass.

And, so without further assemblage of words, and for a possibly better indentification, @ISpeakForTheSeas -may have positive id for us?

This post is dedicated to Ms Steinmetz who's short skirts and provocative leg crossing behaviors provided enormous amounts of stimulus for developing young minds that were considering the power of written language to share knowledge and information about the amazingly compliated and intracate ecosystem that originated from the Word spoken and unfolded into the world we struggle to categorize the life forms present therein.

Yeah, they're a kind of sponge (not a pineapple sponge specifically though). They're harmless filter-feeders.

 

[kbrabble]

Yeah, they're a kind of sponge (not a pineapple sponge specifically though). They're harmless filter-feeders.

Thanks, I was thinking they may have been some type of copepods or some weird sponge.

 

[Pat's Reef]

I have these growing in my sump. Tank is doing great. but these things are multiplying like crazy.

Just sponges, they pop up in shaded areas with good flow often. They are usually harmless to beneficial hitchhikers.