mystery hitchhiker - id please

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I WANT it to be a sponge but I heard that sponges would die if they were exposed to air and this rock was out of the water for about 2 hours. Could it still be a sponge?
 
I WANT it to be a sponge but I heard that sponges would die if they were exposed to air and this rock was out of the water for about 2 hours. Could it still be a sponge?

Different type of sponge...a lot of live rock have that thick beige mat of rubbery sponge that is super hearty and can easily live when taken out of water. There are more colorful and popular sponges that we usually would buy rather than get as a hitch hiker that have larger pores that have problems living after being out of water even for a second. It's not that they die immediately when exposed to oxygen or anything, it's just that air gets trapped in their pores after being resubmerged which prevents nutrient uptake because of the big 'ol bubble of air in the way.:shock:
 
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