White web ID & cure

[jvbear]

What is this thick white spider web like stuff on the live rock? What can I do to rid it?

 

[cdemoss01]

What is this thick white spider web like stuff on the live rock? What can I do to rid it?

What is this thick white spider web like stuff on the live rock? What can I do to rid it?

Is it attatched to the rock or flowy? If attached I think taking a fish tank razor blade scraper and scraping it off would work but I'm not sure its weird..

 

[jvbear]

Is it attatched to the rock or flowy? If attached I think taking a fish tank razor blade scraper and scraping it off would work but I'm not sure its weird..

attached to the rock

 

[shakacuz]

likely a sponge.

@ISpeakForTheSeas any ideas?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Yeah, that's a sponge of some kind - the growth pattern there is pretty unique, so that's cool.

Generally speaking (with a few exceptions), sponges are harmless filter-feeders, but if you want to try and get rid of it, here are some suggestions (as a note, some sponges can regenerate from the cellular level, so some sponges are incredibly resilient and difficult to remove permanently):

For removal:
I've heard of some good removal success rates with the injection method (described below), but that may be risky with the sponge being on the zoas.

The best way I've heard to control sponge growth at this point is to use a steel straw to scrape and siphon out the sponge you want to remove. Sometimes you can create bad conditions for them and kill them off that way, but that's typically much harder and not always effective.

To add, some sponges have incredible regenerative capabilities, so multiple removals may be necessary, and doing what you can to minimize the odds of remaining sponge cells ending up back in your tank is recommended:

I would try the scraping with a steel straw/brushing with a toothbrush and siphoning out for that one in particular - if you can do this is a bowl of saltwater out of the tank (I don't recommend adding the water to the tank after) and rinse with clean saltwater (not from the bowl) afterwards, that would be even better.

I should clarify here - the scraping and siphoning method I refer to literally siphons through the straw as you scrape to try and prevent spreading (this is also why I recommend doing this in a bowl outside of the tank).

Some other sponge removal methods:

Other suggestions include exposing the sponge to air (obviously not a guaranteed solution, and definitely not viable for this situation); hydrogen peroxide dipping the sponge (again, not viable here); injecting the sponge with hydrogen peroxide, vinegar, boiling water, or air; microbubbles in the display; and a few more. Predation is not usually a good solution for this issue

Basically, if the sponges have enough food and enough trace elements (which for most sponges includes silicates) to meet their needs, then you’ll see their populations booming.

If you can figure out what’s allowing them to thrive in your tank, then you can deal with that root cause and get rid of them.

Edit: To clarify - this isn't a Syconoid sponge (those are vase-like and have only one, large, centralized out-current hole), this is a Leuconoid sponge; also, neither of those terms actually tell you anything about the taxonomy (genus, species, etc.) of the sponge.

 

[vetteguy53081]

What is this thick white spider web like stuff on the live rock? What can I do to rid it?

Looks like a poriferan sponge known as Syconoid sponge and quite the mass

 

[jvbear]

Yeah, that's a sponge of some kind - the growth pattern there is pretty unique, so that's cool.

Generally speaking (with a few exceptions), sponges are harmless filter-feeders, but if you want to try and get rid of it, here are some suggestions (as a note, some sponges can regenerate from the cellular level, so some sponges are incredibly resilient and difficult to remove permanently):








Edit: To clarify - this isn't a Syconoid sponge (those are vase-like and have only one, large, centralized out-current hole), this is a Leuconoid sponge; also, neither of those terms actually tell you anything about the taxonomy (genus, species, etc.) of the sponge.

Oh WOW! You are a wealth of knowledge! I know/knew nothing about sponges other than the kind I clean dishes with. I think it might be best to put in a 5 gallon bucket to scrape it off. I could mix fresh salt water to rinse it. I am pretty much done with siphoning as I currently have a sore throat and the thought of getting more bacteria in my mouth is something I don't want.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I think it might be best to put in a 5 gallon bucket to scrape it off. I could mix fresh salt water to rinse it. I am pretty much done with siphoning as I currently have a sore throat and the thought of getting more bacteria in my mouth is something I don't want.

Yeah, sponges tend to basically be bacteria-sinks, so I definitely wouldn't recommend doing the siphoning of a sponge with your mouth (to say nothing of the spicules).

Scraping and rinsing first is a good option - if it comes back, you can try some of the more aggressive treatments.

 

[jvbear]

Yeah, sponges tend to basically be bacteria-sinks, so I definitely wouldn't recommend doing the siphoning of a sponge with your mouth (to say nothing of the spicules).

Scraping and rinsing first is a good option - if it comes back, you can try some of the more aggressive treatments.

Will sponges harm my corals or livestock? Will anything kill sponge?

 

[jvbear]

Looks like a poriferan sponge known as Syconoid sponge and quite the mass

This side of the tank was against the wall. My son helped me move it and that is when I saw it which is why I didn't notice it sooner.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Will sponges harm my corals or livestock? Will anything kill sponge?

Sponges won't hurt your livestock at all, and only a few, very, very rare sponges would hurt corals (see the first quote below).

Most sponges are harmless/beneficial (even most invasive ones).

Yeah, that's definitely a sponge. Most sponges are completely harmless/beneficial, but some can be invasive and/or harmful to corals (thankfully, these are rare).

To tell if a sponge is chemically harmful: if a healthy, established coral starts closing up or looking to be in bad shape on the side closest to the sponge as the sponge grows closer to it, and nothing else has happened (lighting changes, parameter swings, pests, etc.) that could explain it, then the sponge is probably chemically harmful.

Chemically harmful sponges are very rare.

For invasive sponges: unless it shows signs of being chemically harmful or starts actively growing over and smothering a coral's flesh/polyps, it's harmless. These can grow over the skeletons of corals, around the base/stalks of corals, even up into the water column above corals (where they're over the coral but not growing on the flesh or polyps themselves), etc. without harming the coral at all - as long as the coral flesh and polyps can get food, light, and flow, the sponge is harmless.

Invasive sponges are moderately rare.

Invasive and chemically harmful sponges are incredibly rare.

With regards to things killing sponges (manual removal is really recommended):

Lots of things will eat sponges, but I don’t know if any of them (that won’t starve like nudibranchs would) are totally reef-safe - almost anything that might eat sponges are a risk to corals too (and, in some cases, inverts as well). Beyond that, not every sponge eating critter will eat every sponge, so there’s no guarantee any critter you get would eat the sponges you want them to.

To quote another of my posts:

Just to put this out there - the problem with using biological controls (i.e. something that eats it) with sponges is that there are a ton of different sponges, some of which look indistinguishable from others. Some of these sponges are inedible or extremely undesirable foods to some species (either because of chemical defenses* or just because of taste preferences) while being highly desirable to other species. So, even if you pull in a known sponge-eating species of fish/starfish/whatever, there's no guarantee it will eat the sponge you want it to eat. Also, many of these sponge-eating species eat other things (like coral) that you might not want them eating.

Long story short, manual removal is probably your best option for sponges until more study has been on both specific sponges and specific sponge-eaters, but you can try it if you want.

*Just as a note on the chemical defenses of sponges, many sponges produce chemicals to avoid being eaten. Some of these chemicals are more generalized, some of them are specifically anti-fish, some are specifically anti-echinoderm (starfish, urchin, etc.), etc. So, again, some things might eat one sponge but not another, and because of the whole indistinguishable thing mentioned above, the sponges that are and are not being eaten may look pretty much identical (some may be distinguished/ID'ed under microscopic investigation, others may need to be DNA tested to be distinguished/ID'ed).

Just my two cents here.

All of that said, if you’re really determined to try biological controls (i.e. predation) for your sponges, here are some known sponge eaters you might be able to find in the hobby:

-Angelfish (particularly large angels, from what I’ve seen)

-The pencil urchin Eucidaris tribuloides*

-Starfish (quite a few different species eat sponges, but not all of them do; aside from Aquilonastra starfish - known in the hobby as Asterina starfish - starfish have abysmal survival rates past ~8-13 months, so I’d suggest to avoid these)

-Moorish Idols (these have abysmal survival rates pretty much regardless of how long they’ve been in captivity, so I can’t recommend them either)

-Nudibranchs (they only eat like 1 to 4 specific species of sponge total, and they will not branch out beyond those species - please do not buy these, they will starve)

-Some trunkfish and (typically large) filefish reportedly eat sponges (and inverts)

I’m sure there are some other species I’ve missed (particularly fish species), but that pretty well covers the known sponge eaters.

*Info on the pencil urchin diet:

What is this? Reef safe?

Pls help I’d and lmk if safe or not

www.reef2reef.com