Opinions About Sponges

[Joe Tony]

I always wanted to keep sponges in my reef tank longterm but have had trouble with them in the past. I wanted to know what your experiences were with orange tree sponges, fan sponges, blue haliclona sponges, yellow ball sponges, etc. Has anyone managed to keep them longterm? Are there products that would enable their longevity? What tank setups have you guys kept them in?

 

[shred5]

I have kept a bunch of sponges.
The Key is getting them healthy and never been exposed to air. Some it does not matter but allot do.
Also some sponges require food such as bacteria or phyto.
Some sponges are easy like photosynthetic sponges, yellow ball and some can be really hard like orange tree or red frilly.
Some require you to add silicate.
Also algae control is crucial.

 

[Joe Tony]

I have kept a bunch of sponges.
The Key is getting them healthy and never been exposed to air. Some it does not matter but allot do.
Also some sponges require food such as bacteria or phyto.
Some sponges are easy like photosynthetic sponges, yellow ball and some can be really hard like orange tree or red frilly.
Some require you to add silicate.
Also algae control is crucial.

What about frequency of feeding? I've read that sponges need you to feed them like three times daily and even then they may be slowly starving to death. I have a 30 gallon established nano btw

 

[shred5]

What about frequency of feeding? I've read that sponges need you to feed them like three times daily and even then they may be slowly starving to death. I have a 30 gallon established nano btw

There are thousands of sponges and they are all different. Some are going to be impossible to keep period we do not have the conditions for them. I never feed them that much, I had success with pretty many. I lost most in a tank transfer but had most for years.

A good sponge to start with that are pretty bullet proof are the photosynthetic sponges there are 3 floating around the hobby a red, blue and purple. They need light and good conditions with no nuisance algae and are relatively easy.
They can grow fast.


Red, Blue and purple. All from small frags.
You can also see a yellow ball sponge. They are pretty easy too.

 

[Joe Tony]

What about vase sponges? Anyone have any experience with those?

 

[shred5]

What about vase sponges? Anyone have any experience with those?

Hard because they do not ship well at all, well at least blue. Tried a blue several times and never made it through shipping.
I have seen someone that had a some but they grew from live rock.

 

[Joe Tony]

Hard because they do not ship well at all, well at least blue. Tried a blue several times and never made it through shipping.
I have seen someone that had a some but they grew from live rock.

How often would the yellow and blue haliclona sponges need to be fed, and how small does the particulate food need to be?

 

[shred5]

How often would the yellow and blue haliclona sponges need to be fed, and how small does the particulate food need to be?

I do not know. I never was able to get one alive.
The only blue sponge I have ever seen anyone keep is Haliclona caerulea.
I would love to try a piece.
Most sponges that anyone has kept was accidental.
Not many people actually try. We have a long way to go on understanding most of them in the hobby.

 

[Joe Tony]

I do not know. I never was able to get one alive.
The only blue sponge I have ever seen anyone keep is Haliclona caerulea.
I would love to try a piece.
Most sponges that anyone has kept was accidental.
Not many people actually try. We have a long way to go on understanding most of them in the hobby.

Got it. Well thanks for the info. This was very helpful

 

[shred5]

Got it. Well thanks for the info. This was very helpful

Sorry I was in a rush when I posted those other replies.
Yea I feed a cocktail of stuff to my tanks because I believe corals do better with food I just think they are much more healthy this way. I also keep some corals that are hard to keep with out feeding.
I feed bacteria, phyto, and a bunch of other fine foods.
Some sponges feed on stuff as small as bacteria and some larger stuff. Some seem to need nothing other than nutrients from the water.

Over the years some sponges were accidental hitchhiker's on live rock. We see less of this now with so little live rock coming. People also stopped bringing them in because they didn't live and allot of time did not survive shipping or even collection. Allot of sponges can not be exposed to air and that is hard when you are trying to move a ton of corals, fish etc. They had a bad reputation so fish stores did buy them either.

I buy from KP Aquatics. They have allot of sponges and collect themselves so they have some control.



You can see a orange and a yellow sponge in this photo.:

Red sponge. Do not ever let a sponge get sediment on it like this one has.
This one had a few issued and I had to cut some dead parts off it from shipping.
It survived a long time though and grew unit I lost most of my sponges in a move.
When they grow you know you nailed it.

 

[Joe Tony]

Sorry I was in a rush when I posted those other replies.
Yea I feed a cocktail of stuff to my tanks because I believe corals do better with food I just think they are much more healthy this way. I also keep some corals that are hard to keep with out feeding.
I feed bacteria, phyto, and a bunch of other fine foods.
Some sponges feed on stuff as small as bacteria and some larger stuff. Some seem to need nothing other than nutrients from the water.

Over the years some sponges were accidental hitchhiker's on live rock. We see less of this now with so little live rock coming. People also stopped bringing them in because they didn't live and allot of time did not survive shipping or even collection. Allot of sponges can not be exposed to air and that is hard when you are trying to move a ton of corals, fish etc. They had a bad reputation so fish stores did buy them either.

I buy from KP Aquatics. They have allot of sponges and collect themselves so they have some control.



You can see a orange and a yellow sponge in this photo.:

Red sponge. Do not ever let a sponge get sediment on it like this one has.
This one had a few issued and I had to cut some dead parts off it from shipping.
It survived a long time though and grew unit I lost most of my sponges in a move.
When they grow you know you nailed it.

I'll have to bookmark KP aquatics.

What happens if the sponge turns white? I've had that happen in the past.

 

[dennis romano]

I just got a new blue vase sponge today. This is my third. About ten years ago, I got one from KP Aquatics. It anchored itself to a rock. After a few months, the vase part fell apart but the foot that anchored lived. It is still alive in my reef tank. In fact, a few months ago, I took a tiny sliver from it and moved it to my NPS tank. It is now the size of a dime. About a year ago, I bought a second blue vase. Again the vase fell apart, but the base lived. That too is growing. The vases never grew back. If you look at my tank on your other thread, there is a blue to the far right. It has doubled in size and is anchored.

 

[najer]

This reminded me to do two things, feed phyto and clean up the colony of my blue sponge, it has taken a battering over the years and is 4 x 4.5 inches, I need to move it into my display, jug transfer so I can keep it clean.
I have 5 or 6 frags of it, pic 2.

 

[shred5]

I just got a new blue vase sponge today. This is my third. About ten years ago, I got one from KP Aquatics. It anchored itself to a rock. After a few months, the vase part fell apart but the foot that anchored lived. It is still alive in my reef tank. In fact, a few months ago, I took a tiny sliver from it and moved it to my NPS tank. It is now the size of a dime. About a year ago, I bought a second blue vase. Again the vase fell apart, but the base lived. That too is growing. The vases never grew back. If you look at my tank on your other thread, there is a blue to the far right. It has doubled in size and is anchored.

That is great.
I wonder if it is better to start with just fragments on the blue vase sponge?
Yea mine stunk so bad in the bag it was so gross. I almost lost it, I think the only thing that stinks worse when they go are clams.
KP aquatics is great for sponges and gorgonia I just think these particular sponges may not ship well.

 

[dennis romano]

That is great.
I wonder if it is better to start with just fragments on the blue vase sponge?
Yea mine stunk so bad in the bag it was so gross. I almost lost it, I think the only thing that stinks worse when they go are clams.
KP aquatics is great for sponges and gorgonia I just think these particular sponges may not ship well.

My new vase came from KP Aquatics. I also got a baseball sized red sponge/ zoanthid combo. Both came in great shape. Very rarely have I gotten a bad shipment from them.