[BIGtyme]

So i decided one of my rocks was too big and broke it apart into little pieces, when i did it i found this stuff inside, what is it? The dark stuff is almost a purple color, the girlfriend says it looks like tar, im not sure if that helps. Also it looks like there are some tiny holes in it, a mouth of some sort maybe. Let me know what you think. Thanks

 

[BIGtyme]

ahhh, this needs to be moved, sorry mods

 

[jmowbray]

Looks like some type of sponge to me. OMG if it's a blue sponge I'm so stealing it!!!!!

 

[jmowbray]

Does it look like this>

http://www.q8aquamarine.com/english/Galary/blue sponge.jpg

not my pic.

 

[BIGtyme]

thats a negative, i thought of a sponge too at first, seems denser tho, and that other picture, i have NO guess as to what that is

 

[ereefer]

Can you take a non actinic pic?

 

[mitsu_matt]

I have a rock that look just like that, but mine is just a rock with a very very very dark purple almost black color coralline algae on it. Just a thought.

 

[BIGtyme]

here are pictures with the t5s off, as non-blue as i can get it

 

[Fragster]

It seems to be a sponge

 

[BIGtyme]

hmmm, should i poke it or anything, or better yet have the girlfriend poke it? should i cut some off?

 

[dputt88]

does it look like purple chicken skin?

 

[DereksReef]

It looks like the black sponge of death to me... I don't know what it actually is, but this stuff (if it's what I have dealt with in the past) creeps up on you and covers all your rock. It is tough like the skin of GSP, but attaches 10x stronger. It covers like a sponge and keeps growing and growing and growing!

I helped one guy shut down a 180g reef that was consumed in about a year. The stuff was so thick that when we removed the rock some was attached to the back wall. We emptied the tank and there were rocks stuck to the back wall that weighed over 20lbs!

Some rocks had to be sawed apart... I don't know what the stuff is, or if anything eats it. What I do know is, any time I see black or really dark blue/purple I take the rock out of the tank and let it dry for at least a month... I've let this stuff sit out for a week and put the rock back in and it started growing again.

It's really creepy stuff!!!

 

[slapshot]

It is a sponge. Stuff grows where it can. Probably got no light and plenty of food. This is how in nature a pile if rocks becomes a solid reef. Things grow rocks together and corals calcify them. Sorry not a direct answer but without seeing it I can't really tell.

 

[Jessemac]

They both look like types of sponges to me. Some can be invasive as mentioned above, while others are very slow growing and make for a nice piece.