Tunicate on rock

[Beckmola24]

I had a tunicate that hitchhiked on the live rock I purchased for my little nano tank. I have had the rock for about a month or so. Can it survive having been out of the water since it was attached to the rock? It's really cool and I don't want to lose it but I thought they were a lot like sponges with air. TIA

 

[lizardarm]

I'm not an expert on tunicates, but I had one that hitched in years back that survived for a couple of years in my tank until I sold the system; don't know how long it lasted afterwards. It seemed to be getting enough nutrients from the water even though it was mostly covered by shrooms during the day.