red sponge plus coral

[michaelp]

 

[Treef]

beautiful shot, you have to feed those right?

 

[ming]

I believe the polyps eat food, but is also parasitic to the sponge since it is only found on those sponges. I believe The trick is keeping the sponge healthy with phyto to keep the polyps healthy.
I don't believe there is any concrete evidence of any of this, but just an educated guess

 

[Bob 1000]

Haven't fed mines in 2 months, looks fine... Filter feeder..

 

[michaelp]

I've been feeding phyto and the polyps have been coming out much more often now.

Unfortunately one of the tips has turned black though. People say this is what happens when a sponge goes in the air, but this didn't happen until over a month after being in the tank (i.e. no recent air exposure) and I was extremely careful when putting it in the tank.

 

[charlie1225]

When is someone going to frag one of these for me?:tongue1:

 

[acrocrazy]

it could be necrosis do you have a close up pic of the black spot

 

[michaelp]

The black spot is definitely necrosis. Do you think I need to perform surgery? Will it spread?

 

[Bob 1000]

These sponges barely need light, they get algae growth on them pretty quick with halids.. I have mines under a overhanging rock, cave like structure..

 

[lfsmarineguy]

Film or other algaes will not grow on healthy coral flesh. If you see algae it's a sign that something is wrong. Fragging to prevent the spread of whatever is causing the necrosis depends on what is causing it. If it is an external agent that attacked an injured portion of the animal it may be able to be saved. However, if it is an internal cause such as malnutrition no amount of fragging will save the coral unless you can get it down to a size it can sustain on the limited diet. I steer clear of sponges in general unless they have come in on as a small specimen on another coral. I find the larger sponges don't do well in most of the smaller tanks people have even if they try to keep it fed.

Your best course of action at this point would be to remove the necrotic portion with some of the healthy to ensure if it is a pathogen that it is removed to the best of your ability. Also, just try increasing the flow to the sponge a little and see if that helps curb any further tissue loss.

 

[michaelp]

Ok, well it started because of a very small piece of algae that had formed. The filters weren't coming out as often (maybe once a week), now they are out FULL TIME.

So it's hard to say. The necrosis definitely started because of algae (and then the filters knocked the algae off and its now gone), so I'm going to watch it and see if it spreads. There's a good branch point where I could cut it if I had to.

(Note, when I say filters, I mean the coral that's wrapped around the sponge. you can see all its little filters in the photo)

 

[lfsmarineguy]

algae didn't start it. Algae can grow where there is dead tissue or an injury. It may have become caught on the sponge and irritated it until it was able to populate the spot but algae doesn't just grow on healthy flesh.

 

[michaelp]

oh I see. you're saying algae was the effect, not the cause. I'll keep a close eye on it and operate if necessary.

 

[lfsmarineguy]

I'd operate as a precautionary measure so you can rule out an external cause and limit the algae spread.

 

[michaelp]

Ok. Sharp scissors? Then chop?

 

[acrocrazy]

chainsaw lol really sharp scissors you want to touch it as little as possible with your fingers

 

[michaelp]

Surgery performed. Looks good.

 

[michaelp]

My handiwork: