Care of Blue Sponge coral

[Maddog58]

I was at the lps and saw a large blue sponge coral and i am looking for info on it, How to care for it, feed it, what it needs to flourish, etc.

Thanks in advance for your help

[Monkeyfish]

Never heard of a "blue sponge coral"... is this a coral, a sponge or a tunicate?

Sponges are filter feeders that are difficult to keep. They need to be in an area where there is a good amount of flow and minimal light so algae will not grow on them.

[Maddog58]

They called it a sponge at the store so i would think that it is a sponge. Is there a way to feed a sponge? or just hope there is enough food floating?

[Mrs. Slide_Ice]

We've had a blue sponge for two years now and he is doing great. We have fragged it several times too. Sponges are filter feeders and need good water flow, but air must never touch them or they will die. We also supplement with DT's phytoplankton twice a week and turn the skimmer off for a few hours so the corals and sponges can feed.

Here's a recent photo of him

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v667/Slide_Ice/45-spongeweb.jpg

If you have any other questions feel free to post here or pm me.

Hope this helps,

Jenny

[michaelg]

Some sponges will do quite well in captivity. Most that are collected, unfortunately do not fare well (red ball and orange tree, etc). Many of the sponges end up growing off live rock. Not all are air sensative, some are extremely sensative. I do tend to find that feeding phytoplankton regularily supports their growth. Also need to look at the animals you have and think it they will find the sponge a treat.

[percula99]

Hi. I am finding this thread a little late, but I have a related question. I just bought a small piece of blue sponge. I have read it does better in low light because it is a sponge, and that's where they grow. I have also read they do better in strong light. Mrs. Slide_Ice, that is a beautiful piece you have. What water and light conditions do you keep yours in? Thanks in advance.

[Mrs. Slide_Ice]

The colony in the picture is under pc lighting, we also have a frag of that colony in our other tank under metal halide lighting. There are some sponges that do require some lighting, and others don't need any at all. I do not think that light will hurt them, it is just not necessary for all sponges. From what I have read, blue sponges don't require any lighting but as you can see, our sponge grows great in the light as well.

Make sure the sponge is placed where it gets a decent amount of water flow so that it can filter its food out of the water, and keep air bubbles away. I would supplement with phytoplankton reqularly.

Hope this helps,

Jenny

[percula99]

Thanks for the reply Jenny. Mine is in a high light, low flow area. From what you said, I think I will move it to a lower light, higher flow area and see how it does. Thanks for the info.

[Monkeyfish]

I believe that the light in and of itself is irrelevant when it comes to the growth of sponges. Rather, it's the fact that light can lead to algae which will grow on the sponge resulting in the sponge being stunted or even killed because it will not be able to feed. Low light and high flow = less algae.

[Crusty Old Shellback]

I have several different sponges growing in my tank. Most came in as hitchhickers. I have yellows, pinks, purples and white. Most are encrusting sponges. I have also kept the blue sponge as well. I've had both blue and the yellow sponges grow in both light and dark places in my tank. I do not feed the filter feeders in my tank directly but will on occasion add some filter feeder food to the water. Not on a regular basis.

As for their care, good wate flow is a must to get food to them. As for the air thing. I do a 50% water change on my tanks when I change water. My sponges and corals are exposed to the open air for about 1/2 hour during this time. That's including SPS and LPS corals. As long as you do not touch or bother the sponge, it will be fine. It's when you poke/prod at it out of the water that it may get an air bubble insid of it and die.

The blue sponges however seem more suscetible to being out of the water than others so I'd try to keep it in the wate during water changes. Another thing that I have found is that they are also susceptable to amoina spikes while other sponges are not. Don't ask how I found this one out. ;)

With little effort on your part, they should grow just fine. I'm always finding new sponges growing in my tank where they weren't before all the time. It adds a nice little splash of color here and there. Good luck.

[Mrs. Slide_Ice]

Yes, the blue sponge is particularly sensitive to air, if air touches it, it dies. Hitchhiker sponges seem to much more hardy, as you said.

Another important point is that when a blue sponge dies, it releases toxins into the water which can wipe out a tank, so if it starts bleaching from the base up then keep a close eye on it, you might need to yank it. On the other hand, our sponge will bleach on the upper branches every once in a while (or when the water flow changes maybe) and this seems to just be its way of restructuring itself to better filter the water, so it is nothing to worry about.

I love the splash of color sponges bring too :)

Good luck

Jenny

[bertoni]

Some sponges have photosynthetic symbionts, and thus need light. Most don't. Light won't directly harm them, but in some cases it allows algae to overgrow and kill them. That's typical of deepwater sponges, since they don't face photosynthetic competitors in their natural environment.

[Stefan118]

We've had a blue sponge for two years now and he is doing great. We have fragged it several times too.

Sorry for moving this old topic up, but I wonder how to frag this sponge.

Can you just cut off a piece and glue it onto another rock?
Or no glue at all and just clamb it between 2 rocks and hope it stays there?

The reason why I ask this is that I have the same bue sponge, but is growing straight up instead of growing wider.
I would like to "plant" a piece of it next to the existing.

[bertoni]

[welcome]

If you cut a piece of it off, keeping the sponge underwater, it might be fine. Glue should work, but if not, stick a toothpick through the sponge piece and glue the toothpick in place.

[newyorkstyles]

To my understanding, blue sponges differ from others in that they are Photosynthetic and require low to moderate light in order to thrive. Here is a video of my recently acquired blue sponge which is going to be kept under T5 lighting on my 30g Nano system.

<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/5fMPrLznsN0?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/5fMPrLznsN0?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

[CLINTOS]

I frag them all the time with a razor blade or scalpel under water in a separate bowl then I crazy glue gel it underneath and around the bottom to create a mold I only take it out for a split second to glue it.

It's hit or miss with the crazy glue would suggest a toothpic along with glue.

They do have a tendency to come lose in high flows or if disturbed and take a long time to attach firmly to a new surface.

I read that they are photosynthetic and require light. So I leave him out in the light under 4 x t5 ho's

[Stefan118]

Meanwhile I have cut off a piece of it, and tried it with a toothpick but that didn't work.
Now I have put the frag between 2 small rocks.
We shall see what becomes of it.

Realy didn't know it was the same principle as with corals.

Thanks all.

[ReefKeeperMike]

I have several different sponges growing in my tank. Most came in as hitchhickers. I have yellows, pinks, purples and white. Most are encrusting sponges. I have also kept the blue sponge as well. I've had both blue and the yellow sponges grow in both light and dark places in my tank. I do not feed the filter feeders in my tank directly but will on occasion add some filter feeder food to the water. Not on a regular basis.

As for their care, good wate flow is a must to get food to them. As for the air thing. I do a 50% water change on my tanks when I change water. My sponges and corals are exposed to the open air for about 1/2 hour during this time. That's including SPS and LPS corals. As long as you do not touch or bother the sponge, it will be fine. It's when you poke/prod at it out of the water that it may get an air bubble insid of it and die.

The blue sponges however seem more suscetible to being out of the water than others so I'd try to keep it in the wate during water changes. Another thing that I have found is that they are also susceptable to amoina spikes while other sponges are not. Don't ask how I found this one out. ;)

With little effort on your part, they should grow just fine. I'm always finding new sponges growing in my tank where they weren't before all the time. It adds a nice little splash of color here and there. Good luck.

A 50% water change?! I hope that's not normal. Your asking for a mini cycle if you change that much out at one time.

[elegance coral]

A 50% water change?! I hope that's not normal. Your asking for a mini cycle if you change that much out at one time.

Welcome to RC.
You can't cause a cycle simply by changing water. You could change 100% without causing a cycle. I regularly change about 33%.

[birdy46]

hi does any body no the lating name for this as i really like it and want one lol but the shop were i go needs the lating name please help

thanks matt

[Shells4]

I have placed a small rock beside the sponge so it is touching. Wait a few weeks for it to really start growing on the new rock and then cut it. You can easily move it where ever you want at that point.

[triggreef]

so far in this thread I've learned: they may or may not need light, they may or may not be sensitive to air. At least everyone agrees they need good flow. lol

[Ron Reefman]

triggreef,

Despite your sarcasm, what you said is exactly right! Sponges are a very difficult subject to put fixed rules on. Some need one thing and some need the oposite. That's just the nature of the huge variety of sponges out there. I have been trying to get some sponges into my tank and have had very limilted success.

[MARINECRITTERS]

I keep mine with strong water flow, and high nutrients.

I run bio pellets not plumbed into my skimmer, i use a algae turf scrubber to keep algae from growing.

I put in phyto plankton 10 times a day with a dosing pump for a steady food source.
So far it looks great.

Also make sure you have no micro bubbles because if air enters it's matrix ( body ) the bubble will stop it from feeding and it will slowly starve.

[lil urchin]

Sorry for moving this old topic up, but I wonder how to frag this sponge.

The reason why I ask this is that I have the same bue sponge, but is growing straight up instead of growing wider.
I would like to "plant" a piece of it next to the existing.

if you don't want to frag, maybe move it to an area with slightly less flow. :reading: i read somewhere some branching sponges will grow straight if the flow is extreme, and branch in sluggish water.

[Opcn]

if you don't want to frag, maybe move it to an area with slightly less flow. :reading: i read somewhere some branching sponges will grow straight if the flow is extreme, and branch in sluggish water.

I guess we can't agree on flow either...

I suspect that better sponge identification would make it easier to lay out hard and fast rules.

[privitor]

Thanks for all the good info here.

My LFS has a limited supply of these fragged for $7.50 so im gonna pick one up after work today!!!