Spider Sponge - How Difficult?

[John Minnix]

All,

I picked up this Aussie Spider Sponge at the LFS yesterday. The guy at the store said it was easy to care for. Getting it home and reading about it, it sounds like it may be extremely difficult to care for. I'm reading that it needs to be fed 4 to 6 times a day, that the zoos growing on it are actually parasitic and if they grow faster than the branches, the sponge will die, etc.

I'm 7 months into the hobby and am not at the expert level. Also, I don't have the time to feed anything 4 to 6 times a day.

Is this thing easy or hard? Should I just return it? It looks awesome. One other red flag, though, is that I understand the white parts should be open and looking like polyps. All the ones at the LFS were closed and this one is closed at my house too.

FYI, I was told that it couldn't be exposed to air and I got it in the tank without it being exposed.

Thanks for your help.

John

 

[JoshH]

#Reefsquad any sponge experts out there? You always here about sponges not being the easiest to keep in general and I would imagine much more difficult in a newer setup. But that's just what I've read, I've avoided keeping them myself.

 

[Jason mack]

Following

 

[Kremis]

I would return it, as you said you dont have the time to properly care for it

 

[John Minnix]

I would return it, as you said you dont have the time to properly care for it

Thanks. To confirm, does it need to be fed four to six times per day? What I posted above is a collections of random things I found on the internet. I'm not sure of the accuracy.

 

[Kremis]

Thanks. To confirm, does it need to be fed four to six times per day? What I posted above is a collections of random things I found on the internet. I'm not sure of the accuracy.

yes this is a non photosynthetic sponge that relies on things like plankton in the water column, you would need to feed it multiple times per day with phytoplankton

 

[John Minnix]

yes this is a non photosynthetic sponge that relies on things like plankton in the water column, you would need to feed it multiple times per day with phytoplankton

Thanks. Is it just a matter of pouring the plankton into the tank a few times a day, or do I have to spot feed each of the polyps? When you say multiple, do you mean like 2 or like 6?

 

[Kremis]

Thanks. Is it just a matter of pouring the plankton into the tank a few times a day, or do I have to spot feed each of the polyps? When you say multiple, do you mean like 2 or like 6?

i personally have not kept this sponge so cant say for sure on how many times a day for best health, but you would probably want to spot feed the sponge in order to prevent your water quality from dropping. I would try to feed it at least 4 times a day if thats what you are reading

 

[SandJ]

@John Minnix My daughter was considering buying this type of sponge (maybe this exact sponge...is it from BioReef?).
Curious to know the specific needs of this sponge. They are beautiful!

 

[Neo Jeo]

I have had a red sponge for a few months now. You just need good flow and see live phytoplankton.

 

[Diesel]

Large sponges generally don’t make it long.
They are just short lived no matter how much you feed them.
It has all to do with the kind of food, light and flow.
Ppl have tried it many times but not really a success.
They look awesome for a while and help a new tank mature very quickly but when they in the tank for about 4 months they already decline slowly.
The sponges that we see on the underside of our LR after the tank is settled in are you best filter feeders.
They will live only in dark places and don’t like to be in the light.

 

[John Minnix]

Large sponges generally don’t make it long.
They are just short lived no matter how much you feed them.
It has all to do with the kind of food, light and flow.
Ppl have tried it many times but not really a success.
They look awesome for a while and help a new tank mature very quickly but when they in the tank for about 4 months they already decline slowly.
The sponges that we see on the underside of our LR after the tank is settled in are you best filter feeders.
They will live only in dark places and don’t like to be in the light.

Thanks, Diesel? So do they not really live that long in the wild then? Are they just sort of short lived creatures?

Given what you said about helping a tank mature, should I keep it for these benefits? My tank has been up and running since late December.

It stinks that they are so beautiful but hate the light

 

[Diesel]

Thanks, Diesel? So do they not really live that long in the wild then? Are they just sort of short lived creatures?

Given what you said about helping a tank mature, should I keep it for these benefits? My tank has been up and running since late December.

It stinks that they are so beautiful but hate the light

They are stunning, that’s a fact.
On the reef they are long lived don’t get me wrong.
It’s just how we keep the environment in the glass box.
Off the Florida coast they have some amazing sponges and you see them a lot in the trade.
Many times by experienced reefers used to cycle and mature a tank or newbies that have no clue that they are short lived.
If you order a starter pack from TBS http://www.tampabaysaltwater.com/ you get it all, sand, rock, sponges, good critters and include the bad critters.
I always wondered why Richard included the sponges but they are there to help the maturity of the system in short time.

 

[Rispa]

@Jomama and @Sallstrom can you add any insight?

 

[Sallstrom]

@Jomama and @Sallstrom can you add any insight?

No sorry, I've only seen pictures of this type of sponge in some article a while ago. I didn't know they were kept i aquariums.
My guess is that they are hard to keep, but that's just a guess

/ David

 

[Ron Reefman]

Almost any non-photosynthetic sponge (yes, there are a few photosynthetic sponges) are at the very best, nearly impossible to keep long term in a reef tank. BTW, long term is 6 months or more in this case. And to the OP's questions, yes, almost any sponge taken out of the water and exposed to air for even a few seconds is likely to start the long slow road to death. It may take many days, even many weeks, but 99% of the time they will die. And also to the OP, now you know not to trust that salesperson at that LFS!

The only real exceptions are the sponges that do develop in our tanks and grow under rocks and away from the light. And I'm less sure about them as I haven't done any long term follow up.

I find sponges fascinating, but I'm not up to keeping a specialty tank for them and doing the feeding and water care that they need. I have tried more than dozen different sponges that I collected in the Florida Keys. None were ever exposed to the air. The very best result was a sponge that lasted about 9 months. But even that one started to get smaller after just 3 or 4 weeks and continued down that path until it was gone. And I have tried to keep them in both my main reef DT and a shallow reef tank that is more for things I collect and is a more nutrient rich environment for critters that prefer a dirtier water quality.

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

Spider sponge, never try raising. But it is my favorite sponge. Seen pictures. Nice. In future will try raising . Sorry, couldn't be of help

 

[RobertN]

I would return it. Of the hobbyists I've heard of who have tried keeping it alive, they have all failed in a fairly short time. And I've seen an LFS or two have that sponge and watched theirs deteriorate rather quickly when I returned to the store several times over a few months period.

 

[Mkissane]

New to this forum. First post. I had one that did well for 6 months. Spot fed with ReefRoids when polyps opened which was not daily. It liked the shade with zero direct light. Had decent indirect flow. We moved houses and it did not survive the experience. Tips tuned to a clear jelly and degraded quickly. It was beautiful but was my only loss from the move. Good luck!

 

[Mkissane]

New to this forum. First post. I had one that did well for 6 months. Spot fed with ReefRoids when polyps opened which was not daily. It liked the shade with zero direct light. Had decent indirect flow. We moved houses and it did not survive the experience. Tips tuned to a clear jelly and degraded quickly. It was beautiful but was my only loss from the move. Good luck!

 

[Vin's Reef]

I have kept a beautiful orange fan sponge for almost 2 years now and it has almost double in size. I dose Ocean Magic phyto every other day in feed mode as well as KZ sponge power for both my sponge and maxima clam. The spong must be totally protected from light and aggressive flow. It should only be placed in a mature tank with an active refugium. No filter socks or pads will help as this allows small particles a chance to stay in the water column for these filter feeders. I rarely spot feed any corals. 20 min in feed mode with my gyre on usually moves the food. Just alternate between day/night coral feedings due to the different feeding schedules your corals might have.