Is this bubble algae bubble coral or something else?

Question

i posted a pic on my 360 account its the only pic on there. I am refering to that bubbley stuff growing off the live rock. Can someone identify this? i searched wetwebmedia and i cant really tell between some of the bubble coral and bubble algae. i even found some leathers that looks kinda like this. So if anyone has any idea, id love to know whats growing in my tank.

Nope thats not it. Its roughly 1.5 inch diameter attached to that piece of live rock. the closest thing i think it looks like is bubble coral with deflated bubbles. The texture is almost exactly the same as this pic of bubble coral http://shotsacrossthebow.com/weblog/images/bubble.jpg the only difference is the bubbles look deflated.

Answer 1

It really doesn't look like either one to me. It's hard to tell exactly what it is because It's hard to judge the size, but it does appear to be more of an algae than a coral. Since an algae should be green, it may be something that expelled it's cellular contents and is now dead. What it reminds me of most is a bubble algae called Dictyospaeria, which is a "flat" or cup-shaped bubble algae with a bumpy texture. Compare what you have to the photo on this link: http://saltcorner.com/sections/guest/algaepage/Green/bubblealgae/Dcavernosa.htm



ADDITION:
Is this piece of live rock fairly new? It could be a Valonia (http://saltcorner.com/sections/guest/algaepage/Green/bubblealgae/Vmacrophysa.htm ) or Ventricaria (http://saltcorner.com/sections/guest/algaepage/Green/bubblealgae/Vventricosa.htm ), one of the "typical" bubble algaes that expelled the photosynthetic pigment (and it's now dead). It could be a dead bubble coral, but the "bubble" would be less rigid than the bubble algae and would be kind of "floppy". In either case, the "bubbles" will appear to have a point where they've burst.

If this is alive and growing ("bubbles" are intact and filled with fluid), it may be a bubble coral.

ADDITION: With the new info you posted in another question, a camel shrimp is in the tank. This is probably a coral that the shrimp has been picking at.

Answer 2

It's a deflated Bubble Coral.
When they expell there water, that's what they look like.

Answer 3

hard to tell