Sponge growing over Favia what should i do?

[JustinReefAquatics]

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

The best way I've heard to control sponge growth at this point is to use a steel straw to scrape and siphon out the sponge you want to remove. Sometimes you can create bad conditions for them and kill them off that way, but that's typically much harder and not always effective.

Some other sponge removal methods:

Other suggestions include exposing the sponge to air (obviously not a guaranteed solution, and definitely not viable for this situation); hydrogen peroxide dipping the sponge (again, not viable here); injecting the sponge with hydrogen peroxide, vinegar, boiling water, or air; microbubbles in the display; and a few more. Predation is not usually a good solution for this issue, and I explain why below:

If the sponge keeps coming back after removal, then it may or may not be helpful to look what’s causing/allowing it to grow:

If there’s a high level of silicates and a sufficient amount of food for the sponges (including things like Dissolved Organic Matter, bacteria, phytoplankton, and some Particulate Organic Matter), then you may see a population boom with sponges.

 

[littlefoxx]

I picked mine out of my zoas when this happened to me. I then put it in my tank with my angel who ate the sponge but left the coral

 

[cloak]

Instead of a coral now you have a sponge. This is a good thing. GL.