What in the sponge?

[ZzyzxRiver]

A zoa frag I got at a show had a little yellow blob on the plate I didn’t notice until I got home. Now there are three little protuberances poking out of it! Is this a sponge and if so, what kind is it?

 

[Miami Reef]

It’s very difficult to identify the exact species of sponge, but it’s almost certainly a sponge of some sort.

I personally really like the yellow types that you have, but if they are starting to smother corals, it might be a good idea to look into management options.

Some people @vetteguy53081 suggest injecting the sponge with vinegar. I never tried it myself since I never had this issue.

I personally really like that sponge though. Mine are the clear types that grow under the rocks.

 

[ZzyzxRiver]

If it’s the plating kind, the stuff in front of it is easy to move. If it grows into a blob in place—a sponge is more interesting than one more kind of zoa in my zoa garden! I’ll keep it.

If anyone else has more info to share I’m interested!

 

[Miami Reef]

If it’s the plating kind, the stuff in front of it is easy to move. If it grows into a blob in place—a sponge is more interesting than one more kind of zoa in my zoa garden! I’ll keep it.

If anyone else has more info to share I’m interested!

I agree. I love sponges. I dose silica in my tank to fuel sponge growth. I’m very successful at it, but I haven’t been able to get the yellow types. Maybe I need to introduce it to my tank first.

@ISpeakForTheSeas usually has some helpful information about critters in our tanks. Hopefully he’ll have some info.

 

[ZzyzxRiver]

I agree. I love sponges. I dose silica in my tank to fuel sponge growth. I’m very successful at it, but I haven’t been able to get the yellow types. Maybe I need to introduce it to my tank first.

@ISpeakForTheSeas usually has some helpful information about critters in our tanks. Hopefully he’ll have some info.

Is dosing silica mandatory, or will my regular water changes be enough? I'm definitely too much of a newbie to dose anything, especially in such a tiny tank. Hopefully it settles down at a large enough size to be interesting and then manages to survive.

 

[vetteguy53081]

A zoa frag I got at a show had a little yellow blob on the plate I didn’t notice until I got home. Now there are three little protuberances poking out of it! Is this a sponge and if so, what kind is it?

Yes this appears to be sponge and vinegar injection safe to use and will shrink cells of the sponge. Yu can try injecting air into it also but vinegar does work

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

@ISpeakForTheSeas usually has some helpful information about critters in our tanks. Hopefully he’ll have some info.

For sponges:
-The long version:

For keeping sponges, I'd suggest reading through the following threads (and any links to other threads in my posts in them):

Sponge Tank

Does anyone have experience keeping a sponge only aquarium? If so where can I purchase sponges. I've only found a few online.

www.reef2reef.com

How hard/easy to grow sponge?

I want to be able to grow sponge for my angelfish. Could I do it in a tank I grow macro algae. It's very nutrient rich water, it's my molly breeding tank. Macro algae grows well in the tank with no doesing. The mollies keep it prestienly clean of unwanted algae and only nip here and there on the...

www.reef2reef.com

Is This Ball Sponge a Goner?

Hi all! First of all, I know the typical spiel - sponges are nearly impossible to keep and feed. Despite this, at the end of December I decided to try one. I feed phyto daily and blast it with frozen food juices and kick up microfauna in the sand for it but not sure it’s enough. I had it...

www.reef2reef.com

-The short version:

Help with ID

Recieved lr from tbs yesterday. I have an ID question. Is the red encrusting stuff a sponge??? I also got some form of sps (hard to see).

www.reef2reef.com

Is dosing silica mandatory, or will my regular water changes be enough? I'm definitely too much of a newbie to dose anything, especially in such a tiny tank. Hopefully it settles down at a large enough size to be interesting and then manages to survive.

If it's mandatory or not and if your water changes are enough or not depend on your individual tank/water quality - dosing silica would probably be a good idea regardless if you want to keep sponges though, and Randy or others can definitely help you figure out how much you would want to dose and how regularly.

I hope it does well for you - some sponges thrive in our tanks and others fail and there's not always a discernible reason for why. It growing currently is a good sign it should do well though.

As mentioned, keep an eye out for if it starts to smother corals, as that's a red flag that you'll want to be careful with it.