|
|
FAQs on Sponge Identification 7
Related Articles:
Sponges in Marine Aquariums Related
FAQs: Sponge ID 1,
Sponge ID 2, Sponge ID 3,
Sponge ID 4, Sponge ID 5,
Sponge ID 6, Sponge ID 8,
Sponge ID 9, Sponge ID 10,
Sponge ID 11, & Sponges 1, Sponges
2, Sponges 3,
Sponge Selection, Sponge
Compatibility, Sponge Systems,
Sponge Feeding, Sponge Disease,
Sponge Reproduction, | 
|
Sponges? Syconoid 01/02/08
Happy New Year to all of the Crew:
<Thank you! And to you and yours! Mich here.>
I hope all of you
are warm.
<Yes, thanks to Mr. Holmes my portable space heater...
I'm feeling hot hot hot…>
We have an inch of snow here in Surrey
BC Canada
<I can raise that and then some! Big fluffy flakes
currently falling on top of the several inches of their friends that
are currently covering things here in the Pocono Mountains of
Pennsylvania. The weather outside is frightful…>
I have these
"critters" in my 2 year old 50 gal.
<Critter can be good! All got
a place in the choir…>
They might be sponges,
<Yes, they
are.>
but I could not find any pics of these on your site.
<They're here, they're there, they're everywhere:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/spongeidfaq3.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/spgidf5.htm >
Hopefully you could
identify these and tell me if they are friend or foe.
<You've
got a friend… harmless filter feeders, Syconoid sponges.>
At
first I had one and found it interesting. Just before he died,
<Oops.>
There were about 75 little ones on the glass and a few
scattered around the LR.
<Can be a sign of excess nutrients in
the water, you may want to watch your feedings.>
They are now in
my 10 gal where I just have live rock and Caulerpa growing.
<Careful with the Caulerpa. Don't let it get on any of your LR. You
won't be able to get it off easily.>
I fill this aquarium with
the 2 week old 50 gal water. So they transferred in with the water.
<Or came with the LR.>
must be 100 of them there. They seem very
prolific!!
<They’re multiplying…>
I am worried that they will
take over.
<And I’m losing control? No, they usually they reach
a balance on their own, with populations waxing and waning. They are
usually self-limiting unless your nutrients are totally out of
control.>
A siphon hose easily pulls them off however.
<Yes,
but they are doing a service for you. I would let them grow where is
convenient.
I have attached 3 pictures. #2 is about half an inch
long. Below that is a mass that might be a sponge with 2 siphons. It
is about half an inch in diameter and half an inch high. This is
along the back wall and I have not seen it before. #3 ,the downward
angled one is about 3/4 in. long. #4 is a cluster of the smaller
ones, 1/4 inch long, growing on the glass.
Should I keep them in
check, or let them be?
<Speaking words of wisdom… Let it be…>
Thank you very much.
<Welcome very much.>
Worried
Dietmar
<No worries Dietmar… be happy… Mich> |  
|
Yet Another ID... Yet Another Sponge... 11/17/2007
Good morning
crew.
<Good morning Chris.>
Chris here with another ID question.
<Mich here with another ID answer.>
I've spent the past two days
looking for this critter on your site with no luck.
<It's there.>
I'm not a computer wiz but I was thinking. What if you had pages with
nothing but submitted pictures that you could click on to be taken to
the appropriate page. I don't know if that is in the realm of
possibilities but it's just an idea.
<And a good idea at that! Will
discuss with RMF.><<A good idea... but... the real problem... It's just
me who places all... seven days a week... and I am currently just able
to keep up with what I do... RMF. IF we were more commercial, we COULD
hire folks (we do this for free) to greatly improve the sites>>
Now
on to my question. This guy is some kind of hitchhiker.
<Yup.>
It
lives in my LR.
<Yup.>
Is not mobile but does have what seems to
be a feeding tube that stick out a little farther than it's tentacles
<???> and pulls it in when hit with light.
<The tentacles that pull
in are unrelated... Perhaps something else nearby, like the tiny feather
dusters off to the left in the pic.>
I've attached a picture to help.
<Is a sponge... a Poriferan, identification to the species level usually
requires microscopic examination. Is nothing to worry about. This is a
harmless filter feeder, though an excessive amount could indicate a
nutrient problem. Some similar pictures here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/spgidf6.htm
Enjoy!
Mich> | 
|
Help With Identification of Something Growing on Rock... A Sponge
11/9/07
Hi,
<Hi Carlos, Mich here.>
Thanks for the great
web site...
<On behalf of Bob and the crew, you're welcome!>
it
has been a great source over the last year with my reef thank.
<Glad
to hear!>
My tank is doing quite well and appears healthy, but I have
had this rock with mushrooms on it for about 9 months. I have noticed
over the last few months a yellowish green substance filling some of the
crevices. It is semi-transparent almost gel like in appearance. I tried
to scrape it off a couple of weeks ago while cleaning the tank but it is
actually quite hard to the touch. I have enclosed a photo and outlined
it in blue. As you can see there is a tubeworm that is being covered by
this substance. Any ideas on what it might be?
<Yes, is a sponge.
Impossible to identify much beyond this without microscopic analysis.>
My tank is about a year old.
36-gallon corner tank.
65 pounds of
live rock
30 pounds of live sand refugium with Chaeto and two small
rocks with zillions of Mysis shrimp and pods. <Yay!>
2 Montipora
1
Acropora
1 small hammer coral
1 frogspawn
pearl bubble coral
xenia sp
open brain
plate coral
3 Ricordea mushrooms
tube
worm...going on a year
2 small percula clowns
1 Royal Gramma
1
Randall goby with pistol shrimp
<Lots of potential for allelopathy in
such a small system! Hope you're doing frequent water changes!>
pH
8.1-8.2, temp 79-80, ammonia, nitrite at 0, nitrate fluctuates
0-15,
Calcium at 390-420, Alk at 4.0, sp grav approx 1.027 <A bit high>
Thanks for your help.
<Welcome! Mich>
Carlos | 
|
Worm ID... maybe a poriferan 10/29/07
Great site! Have found
answers to almost all of my questions.
The one question that I have
today deals with a worm ID. I found something similar at
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/wormidfaq3.htm but you said that the picture
was not clear enough. I have taken a few of my own and hope that you can
help me figure out what these little creatures are. Thanks,
Staff
Sergeant Chris Shannon
<I see where you allude to... the second
reply from the bottom... I think these are sponges however... Do they
stay attached permanently? I.e., are non-moving? I would just leave them
be... are useful filter feeders... Bob Fenner>
Re: Worm ID... poriferans – 10/30/2007
They are non-moving.
Unless my psychotic Kole Tang bites one off and spits it out somewhere
else. Thanks for the help.
<Ahh! Do look on the Net with the term
Syconoid sponges. Cheers, Bob Fenner> | 
|
Mystery Coral... No, Is a Sponge 10/21/07
Hello All,
<Hi
Jonboy! Mich here, not on Walton's Mountain, but in the Pocono
Mountains.>
I've used your website for the last couple of years and
have found a wealth of knowledge on it.
<I'm very glad you have
found it helpful!>
This is my first email since I usually can find
answers to my questions from your archives.
<This is wonderful to
read.>
My problem is that I can't identify the coral in the picture
attached to this email.
<Heehee! That's because it's not a coral!>
The LFS told me it was an 'orange sea fan.'
<Nope, is not a
Gorgonian either!>
Though it is orange it doesn't resemble any sea
fan that I've been able to locate.
<Is not a seaman. Is a Poriferan,
Looks like an orange tree/paddle sponge, a Clathria spp. to me. You have
been sold an inappropriate creature for captivity as most Poriferans
are. This is not a good genus to keep in an aquarium. This sponge can be
toxic and may harm other animals... particularly if it dies, which is a
good likelihood as these animals are difficult to keep in a home
aquarium setting.>
It stands about 5 inches and has incrusted on the
rock. It also has a very bumpy exterior that I believe is a way for it
to catch organic matter.
<Yes, is a filter feeder.>
I've never
seen this coral before and the LFS told me that it would do great under
my PC's.
<No, it won't. It prefers dimly lit conditions and may
actually be harmed by brighter lighting.>
I hope the picture turns
out well enough for you to identify this for me.
<The picture is
fine.>
Thanks in advance, Jonboy
<Welcome! Goodnight Jonboy!
Mich> | 
|
Sponge ID, Anemone getting healthier – 10/12/07
Crew,
<Hello
Andy, Brenda here! I have received both of your e-mails, and will answer
both here.>
Hope all is well. I have two questions and have attached
three pictures related thereto.
<Okay.>
First: I purchased a
piece of Tonga Branch with 4 greenish mushrooms on it. At the bottom of
the LR is what appears to be some type of hairy sponge. When I tried to
reposition this piece of LR, I noticed that it has become attached to
the piece of LR on which it rests. On closer inspection, it appears that
this sponge (or whatever it is) has grown and bonded to the underlying
LR. Any thoughts on what this is?
<It is hard to tell with a picture
and there are so many different sponges.>
Second: I have had a BTA
for 5 or so months. When I got it, it was tan. Since then, it has gotten
progressively darker and is now a purple/brown color.
<Congratulations! Your anemone is getting healthier.>
I feed it 1
frozen cube of Mysis (thawed and soaked in Selcon) 2 times per week, and
it is a very eager eater.
<A full cube may be a bit much. I would
also mix up the diet a bit with some Silversides, Lance fish, raw
shrimp, etc. Portions should never be bigger than the anemones mouth.>
My Gold Stripe Maroon Clown is in love with it.
<Yes, I bet! It is a
wonderful relationship to witness.>
In any event, as you'll see from
the attached photos, its tentacles have lost their bubble tips (which it
only had for a month or so), which I know is typical/normal/not
indicative of problems.
<No, it is not a problem, and also not
completely understood yet why some have bubbled tips and some don’t.>
What has me curious is why the tentacles sometimes look like curly-cues
and whether it is normal for the anemone to go concave on me (first
picture). Its mouth is very tight. It has not moved from that spot since
I added it to the display.
<Is it expelling waste when it looks like
this?>
As background, I have a 110 gallon display (48" x 18" x 30")
with about 80 lbs of live rock, a 30 gallon LR/Chaeto/DSB refugium, a
wet-dry filter, and a Coral Life Super Skimmer. Lighting is six 54W T5
HO (four 10,000k and two 460nm actinics).
<Do you have individual
reflectors?>
The BTA is positioned almost on the bottom of my tank.
Parameters are: ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate all 0; pH is 8.2;
Salinity is 1.024-1.025.
<I recommend increasing salinity to 1.026
for anemones.>
Temperature is 78 -80 degrees. I do 10% weekly water
changes with aged RO/DI water (Instant Ocean). Other tank inhabitants
are Sailfin Tang (I know . . .), Gold Stripe Maroon, Brown Combtooth
Blenny, Royal Gramma, Filament Flasher Wrasse, Yellow Wrasse, Clown
Goby, about 15 mushrooms (various types), 2 unidentified tree corals, 1
Lemnalia, hermits, snails, and two Sally Light Foot crabs. I appreciate
your time/thoughts.
Andy
Crew,
Sorry to cause confusion and
delay, but in re-reading my e-mail below I realized that I asked about
my BTA's oral disc being "concave" from time to time, when I meant to
say convex. Sometimes, it turns outward/upward to fully expose its oral
disc.
<It may be trying to reach for light. From the pictures it
looks healthy.>
Just so I'm clear, it never turns itself "inside
out"--just appears to reach for the stars.
<It is reaching for
light.>
Because it has never moved and has great color, I can only
assume that it's not in need of more light, but I am just a reader of
law and no specialist of inverts.
<It may be that the anemone has
positioned itself in such away that it is partially shaded, and needs to
extend in order to reach the light. It does not mean that you need to
add more lighting. The anemone appears healthy. If you have individual
reflectors on your T-5s, I would leave things alone.>
Thanks!
<You’re welcome! Brenda>
Re: Sponge ID, Anemone getting healthier – 10/12/07
Brenda,
<Hello Andy>
Thanks for the response.
<You’re Welcome!>
I don't
think I have individual reflectors. I know that some T5 bulbs actually
have internal reflectors, but I don't think my bulbs (SlimPaq T-5 HO)
have this characteristic.
<Without the individual reflectors, T-5
bulbs are comparable to PC lighting.>
What I do know is that my
fixtures are Current Nova Extremes (I have one 4 bulb fixture and one 2
bulb fixture). The product information states that the fixture has "A
German parabolic reflector increases light output up to 99%".
<With
the use of individual reflectors, lighting can be increased up to 300%.
I am really surprised that the anemone remains so low in your tank, yet
appears healthy after 5 months. I suspect that your clownfish constantly
feeding it, and the use of Selcon, is making up for the lack of
lighting. The “reaching” out that you see, is the anemone trying to get
as much light as possible. Keep a close eye on the anemone. Keep all
intakes protected in case the anemone decides to take a walk looking for
more lighting. If its health decreases, it may be time to upgrade
lighting, or find the anemone a new home. At this point, I am not seeing
any immediate concerns. Brenda> |  |
|
|
