Sponge Eating Nudi?

[Tennyson]

Hello everyone
Recently I have noticed a large amount of sponge taking over my zoo colony. I was wondering if a Nudi would be the solution to this? I also have a lot of sponges growing throughout my tank. Was wondering if most people use these?
If not what can I get/do to rid my tank of the sponges? tried several times picking it off with tweezers but it comes back so fast.

thanks!

 

[LeslieH]

A nudi could be the solution but there's a couple of big buts....
-- the first is that it's hard to identify sponges correctly. Sponge-eating nudibranchs are specialized feeders that may only eat one particular species.
-- The second is that which sponges are eaten by which nudibranchs is largely unknown. So even if you can accurately id the sponge the odds are it's unknown if a nudibranch will eat it.
--Third, these nudibranchs rarely show up in LFS & usually die of starvation if they do.
--Fourth, nudibranchs are short-lived. If any sponge is left when the nudi dies the sponge will regenerate.

 

[Bongo Shrimp]

All you need to do to kill a sponge is to take it out of the water for about ten minutes. When a sponge gets air in it's matrix, it blocks nutrients from flowing in. Therefore, the sponge will die from starvation. And ten minutes out of water won't hurt your corals, just don't shine a bright light on them or blow on them.

 

[LeslieH]

I know that advice is often given but that's not necessarily true. Maybe it depends on the species. During field work I've kept sponges out of water for hours and they did fine when they were placed into holding tanks.

 

[charlesr1958]

Given that zoanthids are most often found near shorelines and subject to exposure during low tide, the odds are that the sponge that came with the zoanthids is as equaly capable of enduring exposure. The only real option that I see is to remove the colony and try to manualy pick out the sponge between the zoanthid polyps, all done outside of the tank and rinsed well with old tank water (then discarded) to avoid any possible sponge toxin release into the main tank.

Chuck

 

[Tennyson]

Thanks everyone. And yes I have already tried leaving the zoos out for up to even 30 minutes and they just won't die! I. Have even tried the following three times.

Given that zoanthids are most often found near shorelines and subject to exposure during low tide, the odds are that the sponge that came with the zoanthids is as equaly capable of enduring exposure. The only real option that I see is to remove the colony and try to manualy pick out the sponge between the zoanthid polyps, all done outside of the tank and rinsed well with old tank water (then discarded) to avoid any possible sponge toxin release into the main tank.

Chuck

The sponge keeps coming back though!

 

[Bongo Shrimp]

Ok, get some tweezers and start ripping it off. The more you can get off the better.

 

[charlesr1958]

Then you might just lose the zoanthid colony just as happens in nature. Not much you can do about it.

Chuck

 

[Tennyson]

Then you might just lose the zoanthid colony just as happens in nature. Not much you can do about it.

Chuck

Okay thanks for the help, the small colony has actually been like this for atleast 3 months. It's just a small rock and now looks like one of those rolling bushes except as a sponge lol. I'm surprised zoanthids have survived this long lol. Oh well I'll update back if I succeed in ridding them of the sponges thanks anyway!

 

[Elysia]

There are polyps and sponges that live as commensals, aren't there? Am I thinking of something else?

No -- there are symbiotic zoanthids that live on living sponges. Are you certain that you do not have one of these species? You can look at the genus Parazoanthus, although there may be others.

 

[Tennyson]

Nope I'm sure, these are mean green zoanthids I bought

 

[dudley moray]

sponges help filter your tank water why on earth do you want to get rid of something that does this ?

 

[Tennyson]

sponges help filter your tank water why on earth do you want to get rid of something that does this ?

Lol yes I enjoy seeing them when theyr on the rocks. But when they choke a zoanthid, that's when id want to get rid of them. Or just the one harming the coral not necessarily all of them

 

[suta4242]

I also have a lot of sponges growing throughout my tank. Was wondering if most people use these?
If not what can I get/do to rid my tank of the sponges? tried several times picking it off with tweezers but it comes back so fast.

I feel uncomfortable saying this, but change the conditions that favour the sponge growth. This would also be a major change to your system, so I'd think carefully before doing it. :sad2:

I had a tank that was part of a staged quarantine system for fussy eaters. That tank was filled with a myriad of small sponges & tunicates. There was no skimmer or carbon, and there was modest water movement. Later once the fish was weaned off this food, I added a protein skimmer & carbon. Some sponges remained, others wasted away over time. Point is I changed the conditions that favoured the growth of these particular filter feeders.

good luck!

PS I personally think the sponges are more interesting than the zoas, anyday!:dance: