noob sponge question

[timrandlerv10]

hey...can somebody point me to some easy to read sponge info. feel free to chime in if you have opinions (IF! lol) about raising sponges.

i am moving up from a 44g to a 75g with a 55g fuge.

key inhabitants are an rbta w/mated gsms, random crabs, sand sifting star, random snails, dendro, alevopora, zoos, frogspawn.

soon to add oregon tort, hammers, torch.


thanks,

tim

 

[greenbean36191]

My advice would be to stick to the sponges that hitchike in on rocks and corals. The big conspicuous sponges sold in the hobby generally aren't from conditions anything like what you would find in a reef tank and don't do well.

I know Ron Shimek has written a few sponge articles in reefkeeping, so you a quick look through the archives should turn them up.

 

[LeslieH]

Here are the urls for Shimek's articles and one by Rob Toonen:

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-06/rs/index.php
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-07/rs/index.php
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/april2004/invert.htm

 

[timrandlerv10]

wow.

3 hours later...

removing up to 95% of bacteria and particulate organic material from the water

thanks for the links...i'll continue to read. i really would like to get 'some' sponge' but i liked the idea of finding someone who is successfully raising a sponge, then getting a cutting and mimicing current...um, current!

greenbean you dont have any sponges do you?

 

[greenbean36191]

Not ATM. I had lots of them but lost them last summer when my brother took care of my tank for me. A lot of them came as little bits growing on rock from John at CRA, so have a look around some of his tanks.

 

[WI Reef Lover]

I love sponges. Check the pics in my gallery. the small one tucked inside of the shell (frilly sponge) I've had for about a year and it seems to be doing ok. There was a smaller piece that was attached to it that came off and i tucked it in a crack kind of behind the shell it's sitting in and i've noticed in the last month it's gotten larger. The larger one i just picked up a few weeks ago but it seems to be doing ok. I do have some kind of encrusting sponge growing on the back of one of my pieces of live rock, it came with the rock. That seems to be spreading like a weed. I can't see it most of the time but when I'm working in the tank and have to move the rock the patch is bigger everytime i see it. It's actually starting to move it's way towards the front of the rock where it's visiable a little. It's just a plain tan color.