Red tree sponge death? Any resurrection possibility?

[Northlandboy]

Hi all,

I added some MacroAlgae to my newer tank, and picked up a red tree sponge at the same time. I failed to read prior to placement, and the sponge was exposed to air for the 2 seconds from bag to tank.

It looked awesome upon placement, but began turning white within 3 days. It's placed in moderately high flow area, and has partial shade.

I assume it's dead, or nearly.
Primary questions here:
1) any chance at revival, given time, and
2) if dead, does it need to be removed?

Positing before and after photos, assuming I figure out how..

 

[Tuan’s Reef]

sponges are filter feeders and would likely die in a new tank anyways. your rocks looks really new. how old is it?

 

[Northlandboy]

Set up around 6 weeks ago. Had initial
Cycle delay even with lots of Cycle boosting bacteria (both live and dormant), but levels have been great last two weeks. I added a little phytoplankton for feeding after placing the sponge, and did so every 2 days.

 

[Tuan’s Reef]

I would remove it as you don't want it to decay in your tank. But looks like your hermits and snails are already doing their job.

With dry rock, you pretty much have to let it mature for a bit. With live rocks on the other hand, its ready to go

 

[bnord]

my limited experience with sponges is once they start the downhill slope they rarely recover.

But I agree that even with supplement feeding that a less the 9-12 months old tank is too immature for complex sponges - simple ones like pineapple are another thing - sorry - and I would remove it now