Propagating Orange Tree Sponge: can I simply cut and glue?!

[Drewerd7]

My orange tree sponge looks healthy: great color, upright, strong, healthy tissue.

I do not like looking at the plug it came in on.
The sponge would be more attractive encrusted to live rock.
So, can I cut it and gel superglue it to an indent in the live rock?
Also, if i leave an inch of the base, will it repair itself and continue to grow on the plug?

I know they can be very slow growers.. but thought I'd check if anyone has experience!
Cheers

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

My orange tree sponge looks healthy: great color, upright, strong, healthy tissue.

I do not like looking at the plug it came in on.
The sponge would be more attractive encrusted to live rock.
So, can I cut it and gel superglue it to an indent in the live rock?
Also, if i leave an inch of the base, will it repair itself and continue to grow on the plug?

I know they can be very slow growers.. but thought I'd check if anyone has experience!
Cheers

How long have you had it? I've always had a lot of trouble with this species.

Personally, I would leave it on that plug until you see some signs of growth, then consider cutting it close to the base and regluing it to a piece of LR. You'll have to do this underwater, never pull a sponge like that out into the air.

Jay

 

[damsels are not mean]

Yeah you can frag them by just cutting a good chunk off. But I agree with above, these animals are usually doomed in aquariums. If you want to succeed with it I suggest you don't put it in bright lights and hang it under a cave or something because they tend to get algae on them (they are not generally found in bright areas where algae can grow so lack the ability to fight it). Even then I am not sure it will work out. Sponges are filter feeders and we don't know the diet of various species. You just don't see a lot of these tree sponges in old tanks!

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Yeah, most sponges that I’ve looked into primarily consume Dissolved Organic Matter (DOM - sometimes called Dissolved Organic Carbon, or DOC, which is actually a component of DOM) and specific kinds of bacteria (which kinds vary at least a little from one sponge to another). Most of them seem to have no preference for where their DOC comes from, but they have a preference for algal-derived Dissolved Organic Nitrogen (i.e. DON produced by algae). Giant Barrel Sponges and some Boring Sponges have had their diets analyzed, and they primarily consume DOM (~80% of their total diet, with the remaining ~20% coming from Particulate Organic Matter (POM - primarily phytoplankton and bacteria, though, as mentioned above, bacteria is taken in much higher quantities than phyto). This ratio of approximately 80/20 seems to be pretty typical(though it can vary from what I've seen by +/-15% or so one way or another) for most sponges from what I can find.

Unfortunately, we don’t have an easy, hobbyist way to measure DOM, DOC, DON, or POM (or POC or PON) that I’m aware of, so we don't really have any way to determine if the sponges are getting enough food consistently to thrive (to say nothing of measuring the amounts of specific bacteria in our tanks), but there you have it.

Yeah you can frag them by just cutting a good chunk off. But I agree with above, these animals are usually doomed in aquariums. If you want to succeed with it I suggest you don't put it in bright lights and hang it under a cave or something because they tend to get algae on them (they are not generally found in bright areas where algae can grow so lack the ability to fight it). Even then I am not sure it will work out. Sponges are filter feeders and we don't know the diet of various species. You just don't see a lot of these tree sponges in old tanks!

Just to comment here, for these specific sponges (Ptilocaulis sp. in this case, though this comment also applies to the Red Tree Sponge, Amphimedon compressa, which is sometimes sold as Orange Tree Sponge as well), they actually do fine in exposed, moderate to brightly lit, shallow waters in nature (though I suspect they prefer low, turbulent flow despite being in relatively open locations). So, I doubt the lighting/algae will be an issue as long as the sponge is healthy (though if it's unhealthy, it's possible it may lose out chemically and succumb to algae).

 

[Drewerd7]

I appreciate all of your inputs!
Sure knew I asked the right crowd.

@Jay Hemdal
My tank has been running for only 9months now, and the sponge was added 7months in.. so I've had it for 2 months.
The only noticeable growth is the repair of the "scarring" or battle wounds from shipment. Some of the tissue had been damaged by another plug, but the tissue looks to have mostly filled back in, and smoothened out a bit.. so I shall WAIT to cut.

@damsels are not mean
I shall keep it down at/near the bottom of the tank, even when I do give it a permanent home!
And yes, you don't see a lot of these in old tanks, but I just assumed NO ONE LIKED EM!
They are a rather modest looking species to keep in contrast to the corals people seek these days; especially with names like "bubble limicious ricordea," "jason fox alien pox cyphastrea," and "acid trip mille acropora!"
In comparison "orange tree sponge" sounds quite pedestrian. Lol!

@ISpeakForTheSeas
I suspect the significant amount of Caulerpa and "Dragons Breath" Macroalgae may be helping the sponge by adding the Dissolved Organic Nitrogen (DON) it needs to consume.
I also feed my pods and gorgonian Phytoplankton (@Eldredge) regularly, as I always assumed that's what the sponge consumed as well.

Very interesting about the bacteria as main food source!
Makes sense, but I never really added the bacteria consumption into the complex food web of our tanks. Super cool stuff.

So, there is this massive movement of macroalgaes on display in the hobby, we may see an increased interest, or resurgence(?), in popularity of sponges.

Anyways, sounds like I may be doing just enough to keep this sponge alive.. hopefully I can make it thrive.
In a couple months, when I decide to give it the snip, ill let ya know how it recovers.
I sincerely appreciate you all.. happy reefing!

 

[charliethetuna]

I appreciate all of your inputs!
Sure knew I asked the right crowd.

@Jay Hemdal
My tank has been running for only 9months now, and the sponge was added 7months in.. so I've had it for 2 months.
The only noticeable growth is the repair of the "scarring" or battle wounds from shipment. Some of the tissue had been damaged by another plug, but the tissue looks to have mostly filled back in, and smoothened out a bit.. so I shall WAIT to cut.

@damsels are not mean
I shall keep it down at/near the bottom of the tank, even when I do give it a permanent home!
And yes, you don't see a lot of these in old tanks, but I just assumed NO ONE LIKED EM!
They are a rather modest looking species to keep in contrast to the corals people seek these days; especially with names like "bubble limicious ricordea," "jason fox alien pox cyphastrea," and "acid trip mille acropora!"
In comparison "orange tree sponge" sounds quite pedestrian. Lol!

@ISpeakForTheSeas
I suspect the significant amount of Caulerpa and "Dragons Breath" Macroalgae may be helping the sponge by adding the Dissolved Organic Nitrogen (DON) it needs to consume.
I also feed my pods and gorgonian Phytoplankton (@Eldredge) regularly, as I always assumed that's what the sponge consumed as well.

Very interesting about the bacteria as main food source!
Makes sense, but I never really added the bacteria consumption into the complex food web of our tanks. Super cool stuff.

So, there is this massive movement of macroalgaes on display in the hobby, we may see an increased interest, or resurgence(?), in popularity of sponges.

Anyways, sounds like I may be doing just enough to keep this sponge alive.. hopefully I can make it thrive.
In a couple months, when I decide to give it the snip, ill let ya know how it recovers.
I sincerely appreciate you all.. happy reefing!

Any update on the tree sponge ?

 

[Drewerd7]

Any update on the tree sponge ?

Thanks for checking-in!
The tree sponge slowly withered away, unfortunately.
More than likely, a lack of proper micro-foods in the tank.
I am always feeding Phytoplankton, mega-marine, and even Goniopower, but nothing was enough to keep my tree sponge thriving.
It was never taken over by algae, just slowly died back a little at a time.

I believe it DOES need specific bacteria to feed off of as well. Just started dosing PNSB to my tank. I wonder if that would've helped.

Long-story short, I learned from experience that my tank doesn't have the rich biodiversity of Mother Nature. I am excited about the continued interest in microbes and bacteria that is gaining traction in this hobby..
Perhaps, in the future, we will figure-out what to feed to keep this species happy.

Hope all is well, Drew