ID my white balls if you please
 

No idea what these are:

http://i944.photobucket.com/albums/a...cXx/photo5.jpg

http://i944.photobucket.com/albums/a...cXx/photo4.jpg

Saw them in a local reefers tank...they didn't know either.

Are these like 1 cm? They look huge...look like Cuttlefish eggs kind of, but you would think if the guy had Cuttlefish he would know. :lol:

Some are pretty close to 1/4" in diameter...I've never seen them before.

What a title for a thread.:redface:

Very interesting.
They look like eggs to me, but I'm no zoologist.

Did they just appear or have they been there for a while?

Oh, they are smaller than they appear in the photo. With your permission I could post these up on a site I frequent that may be able to ID them for you. If you could list the fish and inverts that are in the tank that might help too.

I've had sponge that looked like those, not all piled together though...just a guess.

+1 ^

The person who has the tank said that they have been in there awhile.

You sure can Myka
Fish - Scopus Tang, 6 Line Wrasse, 2 Damsils, Manderin...I think thats it.
Inverts - 2 skunk cleaners, coral banded shrimp

I was kinda leaning toward sponges too.

I would also guess sponge but I have never seen a cluster like that before. I think it's safe to rule out the possibility of an egg mass because of the drastically varying sizes. Would he let you collect one and see it up close?

Could it be cucumber "poo" ?

I don't know...he has this cluster and another growing a few inches away.
He doesn't have a cucumber in the tank.

Sponges. I've had them in my tank, just not in huge clusters like that.

I also suspect they are sponges. I've seen a few of this type but never in such an impressive colony. Very cool! :wink:

I'm not convinced they are sponges by the way they are sitting there.

You have several scientists scratching their heads over on the other site I posted this on for you. One of them suspects sponges as well, but thinks the layout would be very unusual. They want you to siphon some out and slice one in half and photograph the inside. Could you do that?

I can ask him. I was there again for a bit and noticed that he has a few of these colonies growing all over his tank. He thinks they are sponges too but isn't really sure. Thanks Myka and I'll post more pics from different angles...kinda hard cuz they don't grow in the light...mostly under ledges or within the rock. I'll try to stop by there tomorrow and post more pics tomorrow or wednesday.

Heres a picture of the balls split...I did the best I could
http://i944.photobucket.com/albums/a...cXx/photo6.jpg

the texture was rough...no slim or anything like that. When they were squeezed they stayed flat. I am starting to push toward sponges myself but would like to know what kind.

Ya, those are going to be sponges. Darn...they didn't look like it when they were wet! I'll still send the photo to my friends, but I'm sure they will say sponges.

Thanks for all your help.