Any sponge lovers out there???

[DEAN_480]

What special need,if any to keep a happy and health sponge.

Tank Spec.'s

65 gal. reef ready
2 350 magnums (alternating on light wave controller)
wet/dry filter (mag 700 return pump w/ builting protiem skimmer)
400 watt m/h
4 vho acintic 03
No problem on the water quality

Any and all input would make my decision to buy alot easier. Thanks

 

[davelin315]

Some sponges are incredibly easy to keep, others are more difficult. For example, encrusting sponges that don't have much color will grow where the sun don't shine, and in between rocks, but they're probably not what you are talking about.

Blue sponges are fairly difficult in that I never know what exactly they need to survive. They thrive and then they crash, for reasons unbeknownst to me. Tree sponges and cup sponges seem to be fairly easy. The thing to remember about sponges is that they filter food from your water, but also need to stay fairly clean or they will get clogged. Also, an unmounted sponge is often more difficult to keep than a mounted one.

I am far from being an adept, or even a novice sponge keeper, as I have only had a couple of them in the years that I have had reefs, but it seems like they can be fairly fragile, and deteriorate for unknown reasons.

 

[DEAN_480]

Dave, these sponge in question is Harley Davidson orange. Both are mounted and appear to be health (to my eyes). I have had a reef set up for appr. 4 years with good results. Thanks for the responds any more help??

 

[Sergio1]

The sponge should not be exposed to any air. Unfortunately, sponges go through several hands before they are made available to the general public. One never knows how well they've been handled and signs of one deteriorating will not show up right away but can take several weeks.

 

[DEAN_480]

Thanks Sergio, Any more words of wisdom out there??

 

[JohnD]

Dean -

I like your description of the color. Yes, I have one of thoise Harley-Davidson color sponges, but I have only had it a couple of weeks. It came with the LR I bought.

I have been feeding it Kent Marine Micro-Vert food twice a week. I turn off the powerheads and squirt a little of the food around the sponge and around the feather duster with a syringe.

It has only been a few weeks, so please do not take my advice as gospel.

 

[monkeyboy]

Harley Davidson orange sponge aye? That must be one of those technical names.

Yeah, the whole handling process can sometimes work against keeping sponges because they usually have to be unpacked 3 or more times (collector-wholesaler wholesaler-retailer retailer-your tank) which gives ample room for someone to let some air get at it. I would only buy a sponge if it had been in a dealers tank for a week or more (they can rot from the inside out slowly, it may look like a "healthy" sponge).

They're filter feeders so phytoplankton is appropriate, as is bacterioplankton generated from your sandbed. Theres a whole crap load of filter feeder foods out there but they may do more to pollute your water than to help it but it never hurts to try! GL

 

[jmeader]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by JohnD:
<STRONG>Dean -

I like your description of the color. Yes, I have one of thoise Harley-Davidson color sponges, but I have only had it a couple of weeks. It came with the LR I bought.

I have been feeding it Kent Marine Micro-Vert food twice a week. I turn off the powerheads and squirt a little of the food around the sponge and around the feather duster with a syringe.

It has only been a few weeks, so please do not take my advice as gospel.</STRONG><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
That's good. Brush it lightly with a toothbrush once in awhile to keep it clean. Algae is the biggest and quickest killer of the sponge as it can't compete with the algae. At the first sign of algae sticking to it, get out the toothbrush. That's one reason why it's easier to keep them if they are out of the light. But even then you still have to watch out for sedimentation. Usually the hermits will keep it clean. But you know those hermits, they've got holidays I haven't heard of.