sea sponge

[schmoeker]

I went by the LFS the other day and they had two deep sea sponges about 12 to 16 inches long, one red and one orange. I haven't been able to find much info on them so I thought I would see if any of you have any info/experience you can share.

Thanks,
Norm

 

[Fishieness]

most sea spounges feed on dissolved organics and phytoplankton. buying and frequently feeding something like DT's phytoplankton would do well for the spounge. they like high flow (not direct) and lighting doesnt matter.
if you dont fee it, it will die pretty quickly depending on your tank. spounges arent always the best choices for some reef tanks. obviously, some more nutrient rich ones such as a standard softie tank may do well, but in a cleaner one such as an sps tank or even just a cleaner reef, they do not do tooo well and the amount of food that they would need to be added isnt always the best thing for your tank.

 

[schmoeker]

Thanks for the info.

 

[Mr.Firemouth]

I add powdered Creatin to my tank and sponge growth is greatly enhanced.
Buy the capsule form of Creatin at 500mg and add the contents of one capsule once a week and discard the gelatin capsule. For whatever reason it works incredibly well on sponges and tunicates.

 

[RothChyld]

I have an orange sponge and its been doing well for a couple of years. I stopped feeding phyto in my tank about a year ago and don't see any bad effects. I will say that I do frequent water changes (once every two weeks).

Mike