Is this a hitchhiker or algae?

fish_freak_jess

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Found a couple of these in my saltwater tank and can’t figure out what it is. They’re on the sand bed.

image000000.jpeg
 

ISpeakForTheSeas

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Found a couple of these in my saltwater tank and can’t figure out what it is. They’re on the sand bed.

image000000.jpeg
Looks like it may be a very small Tethya sp. sponge such as T. gracilis or similar:
Looks like it may be Tethya gracilis - it should be a harmless filter feeder.
They're not super well known (they were discovered first in a German aquarium), but the study I've found describing them was very informative (linked below).

They grow up to ~1.5cm (though they can contract to be ~80% of their max body size); they can slowly move/"walk" - reportedly, they can move several centimeters a day (especially when smaller), and they do this to remove/shake off sediment that gets on them; and they reproduce by budding (so they'll drop pieces that grow into new sponges).

https://www.researchgate.net/public...hya_Porifera_Demospongiae_from_German_Aquaria
 

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