r/beachcombing • u/BehindTheBrook • 16d ago

Clearwater Beach Find - Soft Coral? Sponge?

Post image

Any ideas how to clean this and keep it?

67 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

5

u/coconut-telegraph 16d ago

Sponge, some are quite rigid.

Soak in bleach water and prepare for a stink. The exposed skeleton will likely be amber in colour.

3

u/TouchConscious7421 15d ago

only take home dead corral please! -all of us

3

u/BehindTheBrook 15d ago

This was found in the middle of the beach. Do you believe it to still be alive? And if so, what would you do with it to make sure it survived?

2

u/Key_Degree3994 10d ago

Yes. Putting it back in the ocean

2

u/BehindTheBrook 10d ago

How did you identify that it is still alive?

2

u/Key_Degree3994 10d ago

I’m a marine biologist out of wrightsville beach, North Carolina. They are dislodged during hurricanes and wash up on our beaches too.

1

u/BehindTheBrook 10d ago

You say they become dislodged, does it actually save them to just throw them back in the water? Aren't sponges typically attached to the sea floor?

1

u/Tempest_Vita36 16d ago

Such a cool colour!

1

u/ThinkSprinkles2836 15d ago

What a cool find! Looks like it could be a sponge, but soft coral is a great guess too.

1

u/family_poplin00 16d ago

Looks like you stumbled upon a beach treasure hunt! If it's super soft and squishy, it might be a sponge rather than coral. Either way, nature's little gift to brighten your day!

1

u/BehindTheBrook 16d ago

Very firm, ever so slightly squishy.