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FAQs on Sponge Reproduction,
Propagation
Related Articles: Sponges in Marine
Aquariums
Related FAQs: Sponges
1, Sponges 2,
Sponges 3, Sponge Identification, Sponge Selection, Sponge Compatibility, Sponge Systems, Sponge Feeding, Sponge Disease,
Challenged sponges may reproduce sexually,
asexually.
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Orange sea fan sponge acting strangely
5/9/16
Hi,
<Hey Mark>
I have had my sponge for around 3 months now and it seems to be doing okay
as its siphons all open, it has grown slightly in size since I got it and
there is no overt bleaching or valleys/veins.
<Reads and looks good>
However, over the past week it has started producing small orange
balls which occasionally fall off and settle on my live rock, though when
they fall off the colour beneath is still orange. I have no idea what this
means!
<Reproduction... from "good" or "bad" conditions!>
It has never been exposed to air and I have been providing salifert feed
supplement which supposedly is okay for sponges, and my system is a BiOrb
60L with medium-low flow and medium lighting (I have adjusted the bubble
flow to its lowest setting so that bubbles do not get into the tank). The
sponge is positioned in the highest flow of the tank and in the shadiest
part as the central tube blocks most of the blue light. My specific gravity
is .024
<1.024...>
, nitrates pretty much 0 and everything else 0. The system has been up and
running for almost a year with no problems whatsoever.
<Ok!>
In the tank I have a host of clean up crew including a boxer, a peppermint
and a cleaner shrimp, a flame scallop, 2 turbo snails, a
feather duster, an emerald crab and a porcelain crab. I have two clown fish,
a Firefish and a regal damsel all of which are fine. I also have some hammer
coral, some star polyps (which seem to hide a lot but when they come out
they are healthy) and various soft corals all of which are fine.
Please could you tell me what is happening to my sponge and also any
general advice on what I should/shouldn't be feeding or putting in my tank?
<What I know re is archived, accessible on WWM>
This is my first marine set up so any advice would be greatly appreciated!
I have attached a picture of the sponge below.
Kind regards,
Mark
<Thank you for sharing. Bob Fenner>
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Spider Sponge 1/8/10
Hi there, <Matthew here.> I just purchased a spider sponge
from my local fish store. I couldn't afford the 250.00 dollar
piece <Impressive...> but he had just fragged himself and I
got the frag for 15.00. I seems like it is in good condition. I
was wondering how I should attach him to the frag plug. Right now
I am using a rubber band to hold him onto the frag plug.
<I would imagine that the rubber band method would work just
as well as anything. Another option would be Cyanoacrylate-based
super glue.>
Is this going to work as good as anything else ore should I use a
different method and if so what method. Also how soon can I
expect him to attach to the plug and start growing
<Growth will depend heavily on how happy it is in your tank.
Sponges are not notorious for growing like weeds, so you'll
have to be patient. The super glue method would obviously be
faster than the rubber band method. Personally, I'd be afraid
of the off chance that the super glue would lead to some tissue
necrosis. Tried and true rubber band method for me.>
so I can move him into a little bit higher flow because I
don't feel like he's getting enough flow where's he
is at.
<See http://www.wetwebmedia.com/gorgidfaqs.htm, about half way
down the page. Seems like the nomenclature on this specimen is
varied, at best.
Looks like it is a fairly common sponge, Axinella sp., with a
Parazoanthus sp. attached to me. It is a commensal relationship.
You'll have to consider feeding both the sponge, and the
polyps.>
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Blue sponge ???? Hi Bob, I just picked up this blue sponge
today and we made sure it was bagged and placed into our aquarium
without being exposed to the air. My question comes in the propagation
area, on the trip from the store to our home the sponge has acquired a
crack through the middle of its body. Will it heal or should we break
the top off completely and try to tie it to a rock or lodge it into a
crack. Other than the crack it seems to be fine. Any ideas or tips
would be greatly appreciated, I hope this will not be fatal to the
wonderful specimen, I am attaching a pic, you cant see the crack in the
pic because we turned it into the current to reduce stress and
hopefully to keep it from breaking in half. Thanks again Robert Huss
[Unable to display image] <In all likelihood this specimen will heal
itself if the crack isn't too big and it's otherwise in good
health. I would leave it as is. Bob Fenner>
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