black branching sponge?

[atraperegrinus]

my buddy down the road has a black sponge that literally grows long tentacle like branches all over in his tank, i don't have a picture but can get one if need be, was just curious if anyone knew of any sponges like that. he asked if i wanted some and it's neat i just don't want something that might take over. i swear ive seen it mentioned before but google isnt helping me on this one.

thanks guys!

edit: well i think i found a possibility. Carteriospongia vermifera i'm gonna get a piece and see what happens.

 

[Dkuhlmann]

I'd love to see a picture of it.

Most sponges will die if exposed to air, just remember this when you get some from your friend to not let it hit the air not even for a second as many sponges will die from air exposure. This does not happen to all sponges but it's a safe practice to not let it happen. So take a ziploc bag into your buddies tank and put the sponge in the bag and then zip it.
When you get home to put it in your tank you can unzip the bag and remove the sponge. Very little water should enter your tank doing this if you pull the sponge out and then zip the bag back shut.

Good Luck and please post some pics.

 

[Ron Reefman]

I'm a big fan of sponges and wish I could keep more in my tank, but most don't survive in aquariums. So I'd love to see a couple of pictures of this sponge. Heck, I might even want some of it! LOL!

Dkuhlmann is right about MOST sponges dying if exposed to air for even a few seconds, but not all. Sponges take in water through small pores in their surface. Then they filter out organics for food and expel the old water out bigger 'vent holes'. If exposed to air, it gets in the surface pores and when back in the water it can't clear out the air and then it can't take in new water either. So it starves and over days, weeks and sometimes even months it will die off and waste away.

However, a friend of mine didn't know this. And while walking a beach here in Florida after a storm he found a beautiful red branching sponge washed up. So he took it home in a bucket of water (he was collecting other critters that had washed up from the storm). Not only has it survived for months, it's growing and it's drop dead gorgeous! I have a photo on my phone, but getting it to my computer is more about luck than skill... OK, lack of skill AND knowledge!

Today would be the perfect day to do an after storm beach walk (Hermine just passed by causing 30+ mph winds from the SW yesterday). But I'm recovering from a 180g tank failure and have WAY too much work to do getting my new tank build going so I can save as many of my corals as possible.

 

[SFish]

Hope u save your stuff Ron. Good luck!

 

[SFish]

I was thinking of picking up a sponge myself. So far I like the yellow ball, bee, and tree sponge. Don't really know much about them though.

 

[atraperegrinus]

Yeah im aware of the exposure to air, I'll post pics when i get it in the tank for sure. He grows them quite well in his tank so im hoping they will be ok in mine. I'd love to get a nice tree like colorful sponge as Well. Love them!

 

[AlSimmons]

+1 Carteriospongia vermifera

I have this growing in my tank too. It's usually black under direct lighting and white in the shadows. Under the right conditions though it can almost become an eye sore in a reef tank IMO, but the branches are kind of fragile and keeping it under control is usually not a problem.

 

[AlSimmons]

woops...

 

[atraperegrinus]

Good to know! Surprised I found it on my own usually im wrong when I look it up lol.

Now I'm excited.

 

[Ron Reefman]

Not trying to hijack this thread.

My friend do do a beach walk yesterday and has found a red branching sponge for me! I can't wait. But he lives an hour away. I'll post pics when I get it.

Sfish, I have a build thread here:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2593017
I have a lot of the corals from my 180g in the new tank already. I lost several really nice high end corals (isn't that always the way it works?). But I'd guess about 80% of my stuff has survived.