Is this a pest? wierd white and spidery

It's white almost translucent, a couple spots look like tiny tunnels the rest is like tiny tentacles. it seems to be growing right out of the rock. cant find any more than this spot.

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I have never seen something like that. Might be some sort of sponge. Does it move by itself?
 
I noticed it 10 minutes before i posted it. it doesn't appear to move on its own.

it has a texture between brittle and soft.

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I think they're harmless sponges. Pretty sure I have same kind. Look really close and see if you can see an intake and an outlet on it (or several). Cryptic sponge comes to mind but that might be really general.
 
If it was a sponge would it actually be beneficial ? I had some clear circular sponges on the backside of a rock-I freaked out and brought it and the guy in N.Aurora told me they were good for the water. Not sure I would want them on my Zoa's though.
 
Wow...so the Cryptic sponge loojs pretty similar, I found it in 2 more spots today cuz I got all nervous and moved a bunch of rock around.
Any thoughts on removal? I'm considering taking a tooth brush or torch to the affected area of rock, hand cleaning the zoas and dropping them in my qt for observation.

Also, in my panic state I started over examining every little inch of my tank. found a tiny white star fish on the glass with 2 missing arms and a bunch of tiny white bugs on obe side of the glass. I broke out my son's microscope and took a sample. it was crazy to see these little monsters swimming aeound the slide. I'm guessing zooplankton? here it is at 75x
View attachment 15277

And 300x
View attachment 15278

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Cryptic sponges are highly desirable filter feeds that can help a ton with nutrient export. Many reefers today are trying to incorporate them more into their tanks for that reason. Some are also using clams or tunicates for the same reason. i think sponges make their structure with silica (or some do anyway) if you tank is still relatively new you might just be having a bit of a bloom because of excess silica on the glass and equipment rock etc. I would try to leave any that you can that aren't immediately threatening your stock. They will most likely find a balancewhen you tank stabilizes more and you won't have nearly as many. You may have or still may notice similar population explosion with those little stars or feather dusters or other things that suddenly appear and then achieve alarming numbers. Granted you probably don't want to lose zoas to the sponge, but scrubbing them off in the tank is more likely to spread them even more than simply waiting to see what they do. Most of my sponges stay well clear of the lighted areas (cryptic meaning mysterious and in the dark) and have grown right up next to zoas, but have never bothered them. Top Water's evil sponge is a first for me though so if someone has info on that species, I should probably know about that based on my lack of alarm here.

The other critters are probably copepods or amphipods, but the best part about SW vs. FW tanks is that you just never know what you are going to get. I love flashlight and magnifying glass time with the tank at night.
 
I'll have to do more reading on the sponges and keep a photo journal to track it. If it's genuinely not hurting anything or causing an eyesore then im all for leaving it alone. Nature and all. Thanks for the input!

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