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first off let me go into this library article by stating i could not find much info on sponges except ones you buy from a store, or from am online e-tailer, with that said i feel that this entry will be of some use to those that have sponges in their tank or reef that cam in as a hitchhiker on their live rock.
ok, first off there are a huge collection of sponges having different colors, shapes, etc making it almost impossible to exactly ID your particular sponge.
sponges bought from a store you can ID easily but IMHO i would not buy one. for the following reason (following info is a copy and paste from online while i was doing some research to ID my yellow sponge).
Most hobbyist have very poor success with purchased sponges since any exposure to air at all will kill 99 percent of them. And providing the exact particle size (microns) of thier food types is either unknown to us,unavaliable in our tanks, or both. What most hobbyist also dont know is that sponges can be very toxic, there are even some species that if they release toxins in the tank, can chemicaly burn your bare skin also. Imagine what that could do to your tank? I would refrain from buying sponges from a store, and believe your best source for one would be another hobbyist who has a type that is thriving and is willing to share. That way, you know its going to survive, not nuke your tank, and you will have control over how it is handled.
also in addition to the above, sponges bought in a store must remain completely submerged as th eoutside air will kill it.
with the above said, my yellow sponge was given to me by a fellow reefer and the size i got was the size of a dime. my yelow sponge started to grow and i ended up pulling it apart one day while i was rearranging my live rock due to adding some more into the tank, since them all of the frags have grown adn are a reasonably good size but have recently stopped growing but are not dieing off.
you will get sponges when you buy live rock most of the time and they are fine in your tank. right now i have not only my yellow sponge but quite a few others as well that were all hitchhikers some pic, white, black, grey, etc.
out of all of these the one most notable is my yellow sponge, it is actually more of a bright yellow green color ( i call it a key lime sponge). keeping it is apparently so easy that it will grow in almost any water condition. to explain this i have had nitrates off the chart, to 0 nitrtates, to low salinity, to high salinity, to clouded water, to filter pump burning out and no filtration for 3 days to new light bulbs to no light and this sponge is still here and doing very well.
so if anyone can add anything i would appreciate it so we can give sponges a really good article here, also if you have specifics on a specific type of sponge feel free to post a topic about it.
now for some pics.
first off let me go into this library article by stating i could not find much info on sponges except ones you buy from a store, or from am online e-tailer, with that said i feel that this entry will be of some use to those that have sponges in their tank or reef that cam in as a hitchhiker on their live rock.
ok, first off there are a huge collection of sponges having different colors, shapes, etc making it almost impossible to exactly ID your particular sponge.
sponges bought from a store you can ID easily but IMHO i would not buy one. for the following reason (following info is a copy and paste from online while i was doing some research to ID my yellow sponge).
Most hobbyist have very poor success with purchased sponges since any exposure to air at all will kill 99 percent of them. And providing the exact particle size (microns) of thier food types is either unknown to us,unavaliable in our tanks, or both. What most hobbyist also dont know is that sponges can be very toxic, there are even some species that if they release toxins in the tank, can chemicaly burn your bare skin also. Imagine what that could do to your tank? I would refrain from buying sponges from a store, and believe your best source for one would be another hobbyist who has a type that is thriving and is willing to share. That way, you know its going to survive, not nuke your tank, and you will have control over how it is handled.
also in addition to the above, sponges bought in a store must remain completely submerged as th eoutside air will kill it.
with the above said, my yellow sponge was given to me by a fellow reefer and the size i got was the size of a dime. my yelow sponge started to grow and i ended up pulling it apart one day while i was rearranging my live rock due to adding some more into the tank, since them all of the frags have grown adn are a reasonably good size but have recently stopped growing but are not dieing off.
you will get sponges when you buy live rock most of the time and they are fine in your tank. right now i have not only my yellow sponge but quite a few others as well that were all hitchhikers some pic, white, black, grey, etc.
out of all of these the one most notable is my yellow sponge, it is actually more of a bright yellow green color ( i call it a key lime sponge). keeping it is apparently so easy that it will grow in almost any water condition. to explain this i have had nitrates off the chart, to 0 nitrtates, to low salinity, to high salinity, to clouded water, to filter pump burning out and no filtration for 3 days to new light bulbs to no light and this sponge is still here and doing very well.
so if anyone can add anything i would appreciate it so we can give sponges a really good article here, also if you have specifics on a specific type of sponge feel free to post a topic about it.
now for some pics.
