Definitely a sponge. It's a little hard to tell if it is harming your reef by producing toxins, but if it grows quickly and not near your corals, it's definitely an active component of nutrient export/uptake. Sponges in natural reefs are either beneficial or competition with corals, and it's a little hard to tell which is which in our tanks.Talking about sponges, I found this growing in the back of a frag rack.
I guess it's a sponge, cuz it's soft. But im still unsure if I keep it or not.
It grows a lot btw.
Do you keep sponges?
- Thread starter WrasseyReefer
- Start date
- Tagged users None
Subsea
5000 Club Member
Yes, I have been keeping ornamental sponges for several years. I like GulfCoast EcoSystem as an excellent source of Caribbean & GOM livestock & plants. Silicates are a must for sponges. I recenty got a blue photosynthetic sponge that is a very fast grower.I always wanted to keep them. I was thinking about this pack.
I don't have mechanical filtration so... theoretically they should like.
But im curious to read more insights from the ppl who are currently keeping them.
Do you have any sponges @Subsea ?
WrasseyReefer
Valuable Member
Thanks for the info. I’ll check them out. Would the silicates be ok in a mixed reef if I wanted to keep the sponges in there?Yes, I have been keeping ornamental sponges for several years. I like GulfCoast EcoSystem as an excellent source of Caribbean & GOM livestock & plants. Silicates are a must for sponges. I recenty got a blue photosynthetic sponge that is a very fast grower.
Subsea
5000 Club Member
I have mixed reef with no skimmer. Silicates grow diatoms, so keep a sufficient clean up crew..
WrasseyReefer
Valuable Member
Yeah, maybe no sponges for me. It sounds like it requires no skimmer, and I carbon dose, so I have to run a skimmer.
WrasseyReefer
Valuable Member
Even though I’ve had random tiny sponges grow in my rocks.
Cichlid Dad
2500 Club Member
Partner Member 2024
Hospitality Award
Pacific Northwest Reefers
Rock Pool Reef Keepers
R2R Secret Santa 2023
My Tank Thread
My Aquarium Showcase
I have volunteer sponges under sides of some rock. Was worried when I first saw them, but finding out they were pineapple sponges and just left them. Never became an issue
WrasseyReefer
Valuable Member
Yeah, only time it did become an issue was when they started growing on the side of my Goniopora and killing it. Scrubbed them off of my Gonis skeleton. They were obviously irritating it.
Subsea
5000 Club Member
I operate a cryptic refugium and have numerous cryptic sponges that complete biochemistry in dealing with dissolved organic carbon. Cryptic sponges also proliferate on dark side of rocks in display tank and convert DOC from Algae & DOC from coral into DIC which is recycled back into glucose during photosynthesis.
sergifed91
Valuable Member
i have a purple sponge. got it a few years ago and the past 8 months I have been neglecting my tank. noticed just yesterday that my purple sponge like gsp has taken over my tank. it's every where. So i moved my pencil urchin back to my dt from the sump. and it has already cleared one are of my live rock and hope fully will continue to destroy more of that purple sponge in other spots in my tank. when its done it will be going back into my sump for the algea issue again. now if i can just fine a resolution on how to deal with my gsp issue...
