Moving a sponge

[mikst]

Greetings, I was helping a friend with his tank over the weekend as I was checking out his sump, I saw a giiiant sponge that had latched itself to his return pump. I thought I took a picture but apparently I did not. It's pink and spread pretty big.
I'd like to remove it and put it in a new cryptic zone we're going to make in his sump. He'd also like to give me some of it if it's OK to split it that way.
I know sponges can't touch air, but does anyone have any recommendations on how to peel it off the return pump and does it split well?

Thanks!

 

[tbrown]

Greetings, I was helping a friend with his tank over the weekend as I was checking out his sump, I saw a giiiant sponge that had latched itself to his return pump. I thought I took a picture but apparently I did not. It's pink and spread pretty big.
I'd like to remove it and put it in a new cryptic zone we're going to make in his sump. He'd also like to give me some of it if it's OK to split it that way.
I know sponges can't touch air, but does anyone have any recommendations on how to peel it off the return pump and does it split well?

Thanks!

Some can touch air, some cannot. I have a Black Liver Sponge that I pulled out and exposed to air twice now and it's doing fine. I have had some weird tan branching sponge that more or less disintegrate when exposed to air.

Both of them I just cut from the rock and what was left kept growing and the portion of the Black Liver Sponge that I removed is growing nicely in my new tank as well.

Also, I've read that some sponges can be toxic to people but I'm not sure if all or which ones are.

 

[mikst]

Duly noted, we will wear eye pro and gloves.
So I kinda hear that the part that comes off will continue to grow and the part that's left will grow. Sounds like an easy split.
I think we can get a small Tupperware submerged to put the cut off piece in and then transfer to the crypt and dump in there.

 

[tbrown]

Duely noted, we will wear eye pro and gloves.
So I kinda hear that the part that comes off will continue to grow and the part that's left will grow. Sounds like an easy split.
I think we can get a small Tupperware submerged to put the cut off piece in and then transfer to the crypt and dump in there.

I can't speak to your specific sponge but it worked for both of mine, yes.

 

[tbrown]

And I wasn't gentle at all.

 

[FreeEnergy]

True

 

[Nano_Man]

Yep above is correct some sponges can handle out of water and some don’t. If you damage some sponges when removing them they’re dead . The water is passing through so many little channels through out the sponge that if you break it they just die . Some sponges can regenerate when sliced in a matter of 5 to 6 days but as I say some just die . Good luck

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Agreed with the above - some species (but possibly not all) are fine exposed to air, and some (but not all) species can regenerate into two full sponges when split.

If your sponge gets exposed to air and you're concerned about it, you can try "burping" it - get it underwater and slowly rotate it 360 repeatedly in various directions to try and allow any trapped air to rise up out of the sponge.

Also, I've read that some sponges can be toxic to people but I'm not sure if all or which ones are.

Setting aside specific allergies, only a few sponges are toxic to people (see below), but it's still a good idea to wear PPE just to be safe:

Also, for anyone who’s interested, only a handful of sponges are really considered toxic to humans - they basically give an itchy, painful, swollen rash when touched (contact dermatitis), usually a few hours to days after the contact is made.