freshwater sponge

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anasteso1454

Registered Member
Jun 26, 2009
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0
1
I have recently got info that there is such a thing as a freshwater sponge...not brackish! some come from Wisconsin so we know they are coldwater, not brackish...others come from Florida and seem to tolerate tropical fw better. They also seem to be more like annual flowers in that they die back in the winter, produce gemmules that hatch and then regrow in the spring (at least the coldwater species anyway).

I have been able to get only limited info on these very cool fw inverts b/c most sites are published only in foreign languages in Europe.

Anyone ever had experience with fw sponge? anyone know where to purchase them, or collect them locally (in Southeast LA area)?

some links to fw sponge info:

http://animals.jrank.org/pages/1453...NGE-Spongilla-lacustris-SPECIES-ACCOUNTS.html

http://dnr.wi.gov/org/es/science/citizen/
 
vampie

vampie

AC Members
Oct 25, 2006
2,451
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38
New York, NY
There are lots of freshwater sponges, but you don't see them in this hobby very much. If you can't collect them yourself, I know most science suppliers seem to carry them.
 
Sounguru

Sounguru

Guru at being an expert
Jul 18, 2008
1,104
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Across the great pond from the Commie state of Sea
Fw sponges are very hard to keep in an aquarium conditions from all I have learned. I had some come in on the shells of tylos and they slowly got smaller and died off after about a month.
 
247Plants

247Plants

Plant Obsessed
Mar 23, 2007
2,098
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eastside LBC
Their care is very similar to clams. They need lots and lots of suspended micro foods to live.

Not impossible, just not something we usually see in our tanks.
 
Esox lucius

Esox lucius

AC Members
Jul 28, 2007
39
0
6
As mentioned they need phyto/bacterio plankton and micro-organic particles in the water to feed on. They also need mature tank water and low nutrients to thrive as they are quite sensitive organisms. Air bubbles can get trapped in their pores which can kill them so you have to be extra careful not to expose them to the air.

I have kept them in a small tank before and they were doing okay for about 6 months fed on phytoplankton and a yeast solution. As soon as I added fish the nutrient increase from the fish waste killed the sponge within about a month.

I am planning on trying them again and bryozoans in a slightly larger tank (40L arc tank) with a pump in the tank for circulation with media removed. A HOB filter with ceramic media, on a timer 3 hours on and 3 hours off for aerobic and anaerobic filtration. I will be dosing a carbon source (daily) and my own cultured bacteria(once a week) with weekly water changes to try to keep nutrients down. The tank will have a thin gravel layer with a fair amount of rock work.

Live stock will include;

Freshwater sponge; Spongilla lacustris
Bryozoans; Lophopus crystallinus (which grows in my dads pond)
cherry shrimp
Freshwater limpets
Isopods; Asellus aquaticus and copepods
white cloud mountain minnows x3
aquatic moss

Feeding regime will be a small amount of flake and granular food daily, small amount of green algae and yeast solution every 3 days
 
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