My gf did it again.

[anon9896]

So she makes me buy something I have no idea what to do with , a red tree sponge , I read they are hard to keep... ill be growing phyto soon , hope it's enough

 

[vetteguy53081]

So she makes me buy something I have no idea what to do with , a red tree sponge , I read they are hard to keep... ill be growing phyto soon , hope it's enough

Take it back if you can. They are EXTREMELY difficult to keep alive and for me . . . . Best as food source for large angels. Hopefully they told you it has to stay submerged (under water) and cannot be exposed to air. If they took it out of the tank and placed it in a bag- It is Done. They should have bagged it underwater.
Likewise, if you took it out of bag NOT underwater,,,,, it is Done.

 

[MixedFruitBasket]

Sorry, that's not your girlfriends fault.

 

[tehmadreefer]

Take it back if you can. They are EXTREMELY difficult to keep alive and for me . . . . Best as food source for large angels. Hopefully they told you it has to stay submerged (under water) and cannot be exposed to air. If they took it out of the tank and placed it in a bag- It is Done. They should have bagged it underwater.
Likewise, if you took it out of bag NOT underwater,,,,, it is Done.

Agreed, def take it back.

However the air thing isnt exactly true. My spider sponge I took out of my DT and placed it in my cryptic fuge and it is just fine. I pulled it out of the top and exposed it to air for about 2 seconds tho.

 

[tehmadreefer]

The sponge needs to be in a darker area, not under intense lights as well.

 

[anon9896]

It stayed in the water from the shop tonmy tank , I already have some native sponge growing in my tank , white and yellow , the biggest one is like 2 inch in diameter. I'm ignorant but i'm not a fool.
The major problem right now I think is its length, but I did read you can frag it easy. I didnt do any frag for 15 years , I heard there is nice glue now ... that or sticking it with some plastic needles I don't know

 

[anon9896]

Anyone knows if they filter water via osmosis ? Thay could defenitly explain why air could kill them ... the surface tension of an air bubble in water is worst than oil in water.

 

[anon9896]

The sponge needs to be in a darker area, not under intense lights as well.

So the light can harm them ? I seen some under light diving in turks n caicos this summer.
I could cut the longer part and place it elsewhere.

 

[tehmadreefer]

Here is mine in a cryptic fuge.

 

[anon9896]

Awesome!!!

 

[anon9896]

It looks like it could catch some zooplankton

 

[tehmadreefer]

It looks like it could catch some zooplankton

Ya, those are zoas on it, haha. It's doing good bit I purposely dont feed the zoas as it will choke out the sponge if they grow too much.

 

[anon9896]

dang zoas , I just took all of those I had into another tank (dsb) and kept all my hard corals in the one with the sponge. Those guys are whats left of softies in there.

 

[jsvand5]

They are pretty much a lost cause IME. I’ve kept tanks since the 80s and have never seen or heard of one lasting more than a year. Maybe someone here has had success with them long term but my advice would be to enjoy it while it’s alive and to not bother spending a bunch of money on trying to keep it alive. It’s just not likely to live regardless of what you try to feed it.

 

[anon9896]

Thats sad , maybe they need dead bacteriophages to thrive or something we cant replicate in an aquarium.
Here is them ready for tests. I wont buy more but I will try to make them thrive, im stubborn

I did read you better not spot feed them , I think I will hook a hose to a phyto line with my doser near them often around the day ...

 

[fcmatt]

I recall on reefcentral someone designed a tank just for critters like that. He did pretty well but I never did follow up years later.

 

[Waynerock]

So she makes me buy something I have no idea what to do with , a red tree sponge , I read they are hard to keep... ill be growing phyto soon , hope it's enough

She is a keeper just cause she is into it! Marry that one quick if you plan on reefing for a while in life. Trust me my tank is like a mistress around here. My wife suspects that stuff is more expensive than I say but she can’t prove it. I got to sneak around and at any time she can spill the beans and ruin everything. My kids are starting to suspect!!
Love the color of the sponge

 

[anon9896]

She is a keeper just cause she is into it! Marry that one quick if you plan on reefing for a while in life. Trust me my tank is like a mistress around here. My wife suspects that stuff is more expensive than I say but she can’t prove it. I got to sneak around and at any time she can spill the beans and ruin everything. My kids are starting to suspect!!
Love the color of the sponge

We got married yesterday
She wanted a reminder , I hope it will last

 

[Waynerock]

We got married yesterday
She wanted a reminder , I hope it will last

Nice man congratulations brother! Are you guys going to register at BRS?

 

[flsalty]

Check out this thread about a sponge tank. It has a lot of good info on taking care of sponges.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/sponge-reef-at-the-ocean-discovery-visitors-center.409311/