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FAQs on Sponge Identification 10

Related Articles: Sponges in Marine Aquariums

Related FAQs: Sponge ID 1, Sponge ID 2, Sponge ID 3, Sponge ID 4, Sponge ID 5, Sponge ID 6, Sponge ID 7, Sponge ID 8, Sponge ID 9, Sponge ID 11Sponge ID 12, Sponge ID 13, Sponge ID 14, Sponge ID 15, Sponge ID 16, Sponge ID 17, Sponge ID 18, Sponge ID 19, Sponge ID 20, Sponge ID 21, & Sponges 1Sponges 2Sponges 3, Sponge Selection, Sponge Compatibility, Sponge Systems, Sponge Feeding, Sponge Disease, Sponge Reproduction

Is this a sponge? 11/19/08 Hello Bob, <Mich here in Bob's stead> I'm in desperate need of your help to identify a nuisance substance which has infested my live rock and killed several corals. <Mmm, more likely the symptom of a problem rather than the problem in and of it's self.> More importantly, how to get rid of it or what eats it. <This is likely the root of your problem.> I have been battling this stuff for a few years now in my 240 gallon reef tank. <Sponges are not inherently bad.> Last summer I gave up the fight and had to destroy a lot of live rock. <Mmm, most unwise.> To my disappointment, last week I noticed another infected rock. <Is not "infected", is a natural part of the reef system.> There are three different forms of this stuff: Black, white and yellow. <And likely many more forms in most established reef systems.> All three grow like a skin covering the rock. <Yes.> The yellow and white are slimy and smooth to the touch. The most common and most difficult to kill is the black. The black actually looks like it could be a sponge because it has very tiny holes. <All your photos show sponges.> When I cut into it, the inners are a white gooey substance. <Heee! That just sounds nasty ;) > It feels and cuts like flesh. <And nastier!> It is very difficult to remove from the rock. <Yes.> It will kill my corals. <Unlikely, there are some types that are harmful to corals such as boring sponges, but most won't. It does look like you might have some photosynthetic sponges growing, if you find they are impeding the growth of the coral then you should trim the sponge back.> It infects the base of the coral (Acro, Galaxy) and in turn the coral starts to die. <Mmm, if there is open skeleton the sponge may grow there or around the live rock, but it is rare for sponge to kill coral.> I had to frag several corals to salvage them. <I'm surprised you had to go to this length. Simply lifting the coral out of the tank and exposing the sponge to air often kills sponges, but then you should remove as much of the sponge as you can so as it decays it doesn't pollute the tank. But again, I highly doubt the sponge is the root cause of your problem.> I have tried to kill this stuff by leaving the rocks out to dry, removal with a small knife, using a dental pick and brushing the infected areas with a tooth brush soaking in vinegar. Also tried soaking the infected areas with Lugol's iodine. To my surprise, this stuff survives and comes back in the same places. <It is normal and natural for sponge to be present in your system, particular in the darker recesses.> I suspect it has bored into the rock. My last resort was boiling the rocks in a large pot on the BBQ for 15 minutes, then using the pressure washer to scrub rocks. <Oh my! That's like killing spiders with hand grenades. You're killing something potentially beneficial and doing a lot of collateral damage.> I thought I had cleared my tank of this stuff, until I noticed another infected rock the other day. Can you help? <I hope. Excessive sponge growth can be a sign of excess nutrients, but I'm not sure you even have excessive sponge growth. Your photos show what looks like normal sponge growth to me. Excessive sponge growth is typically associated with excessive nutrients. I am curious as to your husbandry. I have included several articles that you may find beneficial below. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/sponges.htm http://www.wetwebmedia.com/liverock1.htm http://www.wetwebmedia.com/scottsh2ochgart.htm http://www.wetwebmedia.com/water.htm http://www.wetwebmedia.com/watrqualmar.htm http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/maintenance/marineMaint.htm http://www.wetwebmedia.com/toxictk.htm > Thanks, Greg from Ontario, Canada <Welcome,
Mich from Gouldsboro, Pennsylvania >

  Yep. RMF
Live Rock Sponge? Syconoid -- 10/27/08 Hey crew, <Hi there Ian, Lynn here this evening.> Could you please identify what is shown in the attached picture? <Sure thing. They're Syconoid sponges -- extremely common, harmless, beneficial little filter feeders. Nice photo, by the way!> It looks like some kind of sponge, however, I could not find anything like it on the website to confirm. <There are several FAQ's with photos/more information at this link: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/spgidf7.htm . Also try entering the term Syconoid in our Google search engine: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/WWMAdminSubWebIndex/question_page.htm > I have around 12 -15 of these in my tank and the all are on the underside of my live rock. <Typical> Water parameters are: salinity - 1.024, ph - 8.4, ammonia - 0, nitrites - 0, temp - 77. Ian
<You're very welcome. Take care, -Lynn>
<<nice pic! -Sara M.>>

Critter Ids -- 10/09/08 Good Afternoon, <Good morning.> I have just a few questions that I cant seem to find an answer to. First all the pertinent info, the tank is 90 gal with 2-250w 14k HQI bulbs and 4 65w actinic CF. with a 30 gal sump. The water parameters are as follows. Salinity-1.024, Ammonia-0, Nitrate-0, Nitrite-0, Phosphate-0, Alk-8, Cal-480, Temp 77 day 75 night. Okay here are the questions I recently re-arranged some rock to provide better water circulation and I found this weird spiky egg looking thing. It is approx. 2'' in a egg shape. Its kind of hard to see the little spikes in the pic but they are there. <A sponge. See here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/spongeidfaq2.htm and the other FAQs.> The other "thing" in question is this little tube like worm growing on the side of my hammer coral. It appears to be a pinkish tube with a black worm inside. It sends out a long string of mucus which traps stuff then sucks it back in. I read the other post on this but there were no pics. The pic that I have is not the best as I would have to disassemble quite a bit to get a great pic of it but if you look in between the two heads you will see the little black creature with the two "pincher's?" and the mucus trail. <A Vermetid snail (worm snail, a sessile gastropod). Another harmless animal, only in few cases with thousands of individuals they apparently somewhat irritated corals with their mucus nets See http://www.wetwebmedia.com/snailidfaq7.htm and do a WWM/Net search on Vermetid.> Just curious if either of these little creatures are anything to be worried about? <Absolutely harmless. Enjoy them.> Thxs, Kris. <Welcome. Marco.> <<Spot on, as usual Marco. RMF>>

Unknown organism   9/19/08 Hello Crew, <Peter> Hope everyone is well.? I am attaching? two pictures of an organism that has shown up in my in the 1st chamber (which houses my protein skimmer) and 3rd chamber (return pump) of my refugium.? Currently there are about 19 of these organisms throughout these two chambers and it seems like they are multiplying quickly.? One of them is even inside the protein skimmer.? No signs of any in my main tank or refugium chamber. Please help me identify it. Thank you in advance Peter <Mmm, these are sponges... see here: http://wetwebmedia.com/spongeidfaqs.htm and the linked files in the sequence above... Not harmful, actually of use. Bob Fenner>

Re: Unknown organism    9/20/08 Hi Bob...Thanks for the response. Would you suggest feeding some of the sponges to my Imperator angelfish? Thanks again Peter <Worth trying. BobF>

Unknown critter ID, Porifera   8/9/08 Hi, <Hello, Mich with you tonight.> I've been reading this site for months.. it's great. <Thanks! Glad you like it!> Now I need some help. <Alrighty!> My tank is two weeks old. <VERY new!> Ammonia has been trending downward for 6 days and is now at less than .25ppm. The tank has 192W of PC lighting (96W 10k, and 96W dual actinic) running 7 hours per day. The tank is doing great, I've got new growth in macroalgae, feather worms, breeding snails, etc. The live rock is from Tampa Bay Saltwater, so call it Caribbean rock. <Ok.> I've got these things growing on it. (see pic) They are thin, translucent, white stalks. They have gone from nonexistent to 1 to 2 inches tall in about a week. It appears to have small polyps on them, but that's not really verified. Is this a juvenile gorgonian colony? <Nope. Is a sponge, likely growing rapidly due to high nutrient content in the water. Is a harmless filter feeder. Just enjoy it. More here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/sponges.htm and related links in blue.> Thanks
<Welcome,
Mich>

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