• Gabrielle5053

Ross

It is clear that it needs to be removed, the question is how to do it without harming the coral... just pull it out with tweezers? Trachyphyllia hasn't fully inflated for about 5 days, and on the side where this tissue lives, it is whiter, indicating that it is being stressed...

Frank7213

Is it crawling or sitting still? It’s probably some kind of Nudibranchia, take it out carefully and throw it away if it’s bothering you.

Joseph

Off-topic, are you joking? What could possibly be common between a regular sponge and a nudibranch mollusk? ....

Steven

I will rephrase the question... Can a filter sponge suppress the trachea in this way?

Kayla7655

No, it cannot be; it is not a destructor, but merely a so-called commensal epioik, i.e., an animal that uses its host only for settlement, obtaining food not at its expense, but from external sources. Nothing more than that.

Troy8808

I think so too... that's why the sponge is in the same place as in the photo. So it's just a coincidence... right where the sponge lives, the coral tissue is whiter; sometimes this piece doesn't inflate and looks a bit unhealthy, sometimes it inflates well and it's not very noticeable that something is wrong... in general, I will keep observing.

Debra

All of this is quite logical. If there is a neighboring sitting organism, whether it be a sponge, an anemone, or sometimes an alga, which can disturb the coral with its waving thalli in the current, a decision needs to be made. I would remove the Trachyphyllia and carefully take the sponge off its skeleton, because in growth, the Trachyphyllia will be outpaced by the sponge and will naturally occupy more space, which means it will suppress the coral more. Don't be sorry for the sponge.

Natasha7622

deleted. Thank you.