My sponge needs help big time !!!

[need2no]

Hello

I am having troubles with my new sponge. I put it in my tank that has a few gobies. I left town the next day. I am now home & my sponge looks like this. I thought it was due to the gobies siffting the sand & blew of the dust & it now looks like this. I have moved it to a new tank with no gobies in it.

Is there somthing I can do to save this sponge ? Please help out !!

 

[graveyardworm]

Was the sponge exposed to air at all?

 

[need2no]

No i made sure of it. I was very carefull & so was the LFS. The only thing that was wrong with my tank was the gobies in it. They big all the time & keep the tank cloudy. I was thinking they smothered it in dust. This was a very nice spoung & I realy do want to save it.

What can I do ?

 

[need2no]

I blowed most of it off with a PH it didnt want to come off but now it looks better. It is still sad looking but better than before.

Should I trim off the bad spots or let it alone ?

 

[graveyardworm]

Sponge's also typically do better when fed, do you dose phyto or any other small particle foods?

 

[chocolateblnt]

I have a sponge as well ... if lots of dust clogged their tubule vents that they use to filter water through themselves then unfortunately it's like having air trapped in the sponge and it will most likely die. You also have to feed sponge's as graveyardworm mentions ... phytofeast live is good Low lighting is key as well, I provided shade for mine!

Good Luck!

 

[need2no]

Its a new sponge I havent had it more then 2 - 3 weeks. It was in my big tank & it gets feed well - mysis, home made food, norie, cyclopeez & DTs. I did have DTs but ran out.

It was covered in dust when I got home from a trip. I dont know how long.

I have 2 VHOs on the tank one blue & a 50/50. Is This two much light ?

This spounge is huge & it wont fit under any rock work.

Will this sponge spoil my water in this tank ?

I moved it into another tank away from the gobys & its not been up very long. It was set up with old water lots of live rock & live sand. Its stable & was just fixing to add some fish to it.

 

[chocolateblnt]

So it's stable now?! My guess is the dust is the culprit, clogged the airways and wasn't able to feed. Did you ever see it open up it's tubule vents?

I have a 250 watt MH but I made a small canopy over my tank to provide shade for it ... sponges usually grow best under very minimal lighting. However at this point I don't think growth is your main concern; still I would still keep it shaded.

The sponge is a fragile creature so if it does completely turn white I would toss it before it can potentially disintigrate into your water.

 

[need2no]

The new tank that i moved the sponge in to was a new set up & the tank is stable & ready for fish & stuff. I moved the sponge into it becouse it was ready for fish & there wasnt any in it to mess up the sand. I thought it was the best place for it to recover. I will try & get a new picture of it now that I took the PH & blew of all the white stuff that I could. Its still in sad shape I think but it does look better then it did.

I just put a light strip on the tank with a sun bulb 50 50 in it & turned off the VHOs. Will this be alright for it now ?

 

[chocolateblnt]

Yea defintiely man ... get a pic up and we'll compare it

I'm gonna tease you with my sponge I've pretty much switched all soft corals to SPS by now

 

[need2no]

Now that is very nice for sure. Mine was very nice also but I think its going to die.

Here is the picture of it as of now.

 

[need2no]

Does it still stand a chance of making it or not.

 

[need2no]

Does it stand a chance ?

 

[chocolateblnt]

I'm afraid it's not going to make it ...

looks worse than the previous pictures you had posted. I would simply call the time of death and take it out of your tank before it disintigrates. With sponges intricate vascular network ... once a portion is affected more than likely the rest will follow with time. I would have suggested fragging a piece of it but no piece actually looked untouched and in good shape even in the last picture.

Sorry for your loss ...