new live rock - is this some kind of coral?

[chuckleberry49]

Hi,

I just got a big order of live rock in and one very cool rock has a very interesting looking coral/organism on it. The picture isn't great, but it looks and feels like a gel stuck to the rock. It is translucent and while it's hard to see in the picture, it looks like there are some polyps / zoa looking buttons under the "gel" covering, but I don't see how they would open up either. It almost looks like someone took a small zoa patch and smothered it in a thick layer of superglue gel - at least that's the best description I can articulate.

Anyone ever seen anything like this? I'll try to get a better picture when the lights are fully on.

thanks!
chuck

 

[tzabor10]

Condominium tunicate. They like phytoplankton and low light. I have heard that Spongexcel helps.

 

[chuckleberry49]

Condominium tunicate. They like phytoplankton and low light. I have heard that Spongexcel helps.

Thanks and I believe you're right. A bit of googling let me too a few pictures that looked exactly like this. Doesn't sound like it's harmful, but probably won't fare too well in a typical reef tank (soft corals is all I'm planning).