What is this

[Russelm]

Hey reefers,
This sponge looking stuff is showing up in patches all over my tank. I have had the tank for a little over a year now and just starting dosing kalk. It has some sort of funnel that opens and closes when a crab gets near it. Also I'm having these white things show up as well. Should I be worried

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Pis is a little hard to see. But if it looks like a sponge but moves, its likey a tunicate

 

[Russelm]

What is a tunicate

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

What is a tunicate

A tunicate is a marine invertebrate animal, a member of the subphylum Tunicata, which is part of the Chordata, a phylum which includes all animals with dorsal nerve cords and notochords.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunicate
https://www.google.com/search?q=tun...7s_SAhWIMyYKHQ8rBC0Q_AUIBigB&biw=1920&bih=950
There are many many kinds

 

[Russelm]

Thanks dude, so just reading about it they don't seem to bad for the tank if they are filter feeders. I just wonder how many nutrients they are pulling out of the water to things I want to grow

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Thanks dude, so just reading about it they don't seem to bad for the tank if they are filter feeders. I just wonder how many nutrients they are pulling out of the water to things I want to grow

They live on waste. If you keep a super super clean tank "macro fauna" fades. If its a younger tank, like under 3, it seems like you get phases of life and they get either run out of food(like diatoms and silicates.), or something in your tank eats them all. SO in a way you want that stuff in there as its an indicator of your feeding habits, and in a younger tank its eating stuff that came in when it was born(esp with live rock), and is cleaning the water and then dies. Keep an eye on stuff like that and enjoy it, just make sure it doesn't take over by checking feeding and removing if it gets big. Its a cool primitive lifeform.

Can you get a lil better pic. Its super in focus jus dark. But it looks harmless, I haven found a match yet either.