sponge

[ricksconnected]

friend or foe?
i have a small rock that has a mushroom head on it a friend gave me.
1/2 the rock is covered in a very bright yellow sponge.
if this sponge is "friend" how can i get it to grow and cover the inside cave work on one of my show piece rocks?
do you feed them? if so what do you feed them?

 

[smoothie]

They filter and feed from the water. What you are describing is a good thing

 

[ricksconnected]

dude this stuff is very bright yellow. a great color for a reef tank.
i do have some darker green growing as well.
i just want to make it spread in the places i want it.
i do hear that its very slow growing. need to know what i can do to speed growth a bit.

 

[smoothie]

It will spread. I have some pink, yellow and blue.

 

[kirru]

i gots sponges out my ... seriously, i never heard a sponge to be bad. I have some that seem to stretch across the back part of my tank and on some shells. its very nice, have some bright green as well... had a little yellow but i dunno where it went. i'd like to get some more if you are able to... frag it, i guess would be the term


Smoothie, I want some of yours as well lol

 

[ricksconnected]

kirru

ok im switching out my 27 to a 45 this weekend. (pray for me)
the rock slid over on the glass and the sponge grew on the glass very quickly. the rock is small but it took off on the glass.
i dont know how to frag this stuff. any suggestions?
maybe i can get it off the glass easier than the rock.
the rock is about 1/2 the size of a golf ball.
thats why i want it to spread.

 

[ichthyoid]

Just dont ever expose them to air, it's usually lethal to them.

 

[kirru]

when you go to switch it, do it all at once and take your time.. but do it quickly lol.
no idea, i just assume let it grow on to something and remove it and replace with another lol or cut the rock..
i wonder if you could scrape it off the glass and put it in the new tank with rocks covering it so it attaches and grows from there.
yea, that is pretty small.. maybe it'll grow fast, mine doesn't take that long.. it just kind of.. grows like a weed but a good one lol

 

[ricksconnected]

usually. this one has been in the air countless times.

 

[musicalocean]

Is it spongebob yellow I have pink & purple ones growing in mine if you want some. I have plenty! I have just been moving them around alot trying to get it to spread to other rocks & it seems to be working

 

[ichthyoid]

FWIW-

"The reasoning against lifting a sponge from the water is eminently clear in studying the drawing of a sponge. Once air is trapped in the atria, it is exceedingly difficult for the flagella-equipped collar cells or <u>choanocytes</u> to void it. The choanocytes are responsible for producing the water currents through the animal which bring in/out oxygen, carbon-dioxide, sex cells and waste, mainly ammonia."

 

[ricksconnected]

Kirru;499119 wrote:
i wonder if you could scrape it off the glass and put it in the new tank with rocks covering it so it attaches and grows from there.

i was thinking of that. right now its growing under PC lights which might be my problem.
is yours growing in a low light condition or is it out in the open?
i might wait and see if i can get it to grow on another rock and just give ya the new rock if thats ok. dont want to risk killing it.
or, i wonder if i can just cut it away from the glass, scrape the glass, and put that scraping on a frag plug?

 

[ricksconnected]

ichthyoid;499125 wrote: FWIW-

"The reasoning against lifting a sponge from the water is eminently clear in studying the drawing of a sponge. Once air is trapped in the atria, it is exceedingly difficult for the flagella-equipped collar cells or <u>choanocytes</u> to void it. The choanocytes are responsible for producing the water currents through the animal which bring in/out oxygen, carbon-dioxide, sex cells and waste, mainly ammonia."

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/sponges.htm">http://www.wetwebmedia.com/sponges.htm</a>[/QUOTE]


depending on the sponge type im told.
this one has seriously been in and out of the tank so many times and exposed to air each time.

 

[kirru]

ricksconnected;499126 wrote: i was thinking of that. right now its growing under PC lights which might be my problem.
is yours growing in a low light condition or is it out in the open?
i might wait and see if i can get it to grow on another rock and just give ya the new rock if thats ok. dont want to risk killing it.
or, i wonder if i can just cut it away from the glass, scrape the glass, and put that scraping on a frag plug?

might be the case of PCs... i have mine under T5s and some of it is out and in the open right at the top and some is under the rock not even viewable.. but since they are filter feeders i don't think they rely to much on light and i assume they are not even photosynthetic but i could be wrong

 

[ricksconnected]

i wonder who the forum expert might be on this issue?

 

[jennm]

Ichthyoid is right - sponges (and most gorgonians) shouldn't be exposed to air.

However, the "hitchhiker" sponges like what you've described seem to be fairly immune to air exposure. Murphy's law applies. If you'd paid $50 for it, it would shrivel up and die immediately after an accidental 2-second exposure :lol:

All of those hitchhiker sponges have survived long trips in boxes without water (just moist) when the live rock was shipped in the first place.

Sponges are non-photosynthetic. They don't use light at all. So you can put them anywhere - under 800 watts of MH, or in the dark. It doesn't matter. If it can feed and breathe, it will grow.

(Many people think non-photosynthetics should be placed in the dark - it doesn't matter. Just because they don't use light doesn't mean they can't/won't tolerate it).

As to how to "make" it grow? You can't. Just let it be, it will grow.

I've never tried fragging a sponge, other than tearing off pieces of the stringy black hitchhiker sponge, and that doesn't seem to discourage it much. I don't think I'd recommend trying to frag a sponge, because they have an outer "skin" and cutting into that just doesn't sound like a good idea to me.

Jenn

 

[dakota9]

Sounds like a lethal yellow venomous sponge to be....... it could wipe out your entire tank. You'd best give it to me to study and monitor....

Actually, it sounds like a rock I once owned that had a couple of hairy mushrooms on it. It went with my last set up when I sold it....

 

[lilrobb]

JennM;499145 wrote: Ichthyoid is right - sponges (and most gorgonians) shouldn't be exposed to air.

However, the "hitchhiker" sponges like what you've described seem to be fairly immune to air exposure. Murphy's law applies. If you'd paid $50 for it, it would shrivel up and die immediately after an accidental 2-second exposure :lol:

All of those hitchhiker sponges have survived long trips in boxes without water (just moist) when the live rock was shipped in the first place.

Sponges are non-photosynthetic. They don't use light at all. So you can put them anywhere - under 800 watts of MH, or in the dark. It doesn't matter. If it can feed and breathe, it will grow.

(Many people think non-photosynthetics should be placed in the dark - it doesn't matter. Just because they don't use light doesn't mean they can't/won't tolerate it).

As to how to "make" it grow? You can't. Just let it be, it will grow.

I've never tried fragging a sponge, other than tearing off pieces of the stringy black hitchhiker sponge, and that doesn't seem to discourage it much. I don't think I'd recommend trying to frag a sponge, because they have an outer "skin" and cutting into that just doesn't sound like a good idea to me.

Jenn

There is a recent study going on that is trying the effects on yeast feeding on sponges.
Supposedly helps w the growing...

Robb

 

[ricksconnected]

jenn

as ive learned the hard way before, i will take your advice and
see if it will grow and spread to other rocks to give away.


see ya in a few.