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FAQs on Sponge Identification 4
Related Articles:
Sponges in Marine Aquariums Related
FAQs: Sponge ID 1,
Sponge ID 2, Sponge ID 3,
Sponge ID 5, Sponge ID 6,
Sponge ID 7, & Sponges 1, Sponges
2, Sponges 3,
Sponge Selection, Sponge
Compatibility, Sponge Systems,
Sponge Feeding, Sponge Disease,
Sponge Reproduction, | 
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Sponge ID 9/22/06
Could you possibly identify what this
is? I noticed it one day behind one of my power heads. I enclosed a
pic. It looks like a miniature clear or white colored tree branch
all scrunched up. Sometimes I notice small "bugs" that resemble
fleas inside the branches. Its very small and unusual to me. Any
help would be appreciated.
<Appears to be a sponge, quite
possibly. a type of chatbrina. The critters are more than likely
copepods/amphipods, good snacks for the fish.>
Thanks.
<You're welcome. James (Salty Dog)> | 
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Help with Sponge ID 8/31/06
Can you help me id this sponge so I
can research it more?
<Yes... this is a Syconoid>
I have already
searched the net but could not find a positive match.
Maybe Sycon or
Syconoid sponge, but I haven't seen them with the extended tubes?
<Quite common in aquariums... and in the wild if one looks about>
The tubes have grown longer now and have entwined each other like
spaghetti and look like they have attached to each other in one large
mass.
There are about 50 small ones in my skimmer and more every
week in my tank. I do not want a tank of sponges and I have heard that
sponges can also become toxic and crash a system, so should I remove
them and give/trade them away?
<Mmm, this group is rarely
problematical... can likely trade some about>
If they are beneficial
and do not require light, I would like to move some to my new sump too.
<Good idea... if they'll "take" there>
Thanks for your time,
Pat
<And you for sharing yours. Bob Fenner>
P.S. You may use the picture
on the website to help others ID.
Patrick | 
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Sponge ID - 01/01/06
Hi,
<<Hello>>
Like everyone else I
keep coming back to your page when looking for answers about my aquarium
you have been a great resource.
<<Happy to help>>
I have
attached a photo of what looks like two different sponges that grew on
the live rock my coral is attached to. Could you identify them for me?
<<The white one is a Syconoid sponge, the yellow is a type of encrusting
sponge. Both are harmless if not beneficial.>>
Not sure what I am
doing right but they seem to like where they are and I like them. Hope
they are nothing to be avoided.
<<Not at all, do enjoy them.>>
Anne
<<Regards, EricR>> |
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Beautiful color, what is it? 11/21/05
Greetings crew. Great
site; immensely helpful. I'm new to the marine aquarium thing, but
have been considering and researching for a number of years. A
recent trip to Cancun, including snorkeling a few spectacular reefs,
sealed my fate.
<Good! Wonderfully complementary hobbies,
interests, vocations>
I have a 38g glass tank with Coralife Super
Skimmer which, FWIW, seems to perform very well, 192w CF (96w
actinic 96w 10K) with 2 3/4w moonlight LEDs, Fluval 403 with media
(ceramic, carbon, sponge) and 2 maxijet900 powerheads (230gph each),
outboard 200w heater.
I execute bi-weekly water changes of about
6g and my parameters are fairly consistently 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites,
0 nitrates, 0 phosphates. I have to keep a close eye on ph, but
maintain it at about 8.2. SG is 1.022, temperature pretty consistent
at 81deg.
Livestock consists of:
2 blue devil damsels
1
Coral beauty
1 Rusty Angel
<Both in such a small volume...
troubles ahead>
1 Maroon clown
<Ditto>
1 Blood shrimp, who
molts pretty consistently every two weeks
Half dozen margarita
snails
1 Olive snail, sand sifter (is he a carnivore? He comes
running when he smells Mysis in the water)
<Yes>
Hairy
mushrooms on one rock
Red mushrooms on a second rock
Maroon-ish mushrooms on a third of the glow in the dark variety
Mystery yellow 'stuff' (I'm assuming sponge and the subject of one
of my questions)
<Is...>
About 30# live Fiji rock
About 10#
of Tufa
About 1in aragonite
I have two questions, one re
calcium content, the other about a new acquisition:
My calcium
level is consistently above 520,
<Too high>
the highest my
test kit will measure, and this without my supplementing it. Is this
due to the Tufa leaching calcium, and is there any danger in this?
<Possibly and yes... best to "knock down" with the addition of
carbonate, bicarbonate...>
I like the Tufa because the two rocks
have great caves that the fish like at night. I also expect that
eventually they will become live rock with great porosity. I'm also
attaching a picture of a small rock I bought because of the
beautiful yellow 'stuff' on it. At the LFS, they said it was
probably a sponge, but could be algae of some sort.
<Much more
likely the former>
What is it and what can I do to ensure that it
thrives?
<What you're doing... there is obviously the "right" or
favorable circumstances present from your set-up, maintenance...
endogenous foods, water movement, a dearth of predators...>
It's
why I bought the rock. It also has a nice population of mushrooms
and various small feather dusters, etc, but I really like the color
it adds to my tank.
Thanks for your help, and the eagerness of
you all to help the community at large.
Regards
Phil
<Welcome. Bob Fenner> |
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Sponges & Polyps 10/12/05
Hi, I apologize for probably asking you
the same question you've been asked a hundred times, but I couldn't find
exactly what I was looking for. I have a 29 gal. fish/reef tank with
live rock. We have been very lucky with our tank, it has been up and
running for about a year. Within the last month (we have added no new
live rock) we have noticed several new growths, and I am not sure what
they are. We seem to have 5 different kinds of sponges growing and some
polyps. There is a fuzzy ball-looking sponge (no pic since it's behind
some rock), and a patch of white-ish sponge (again no pic).
<You can
likely see what you have... on WWM... on the Sponge ID FAQs files>
What I have included is one picture of a black sponge... I apologize for
the fuzzy pic, but it is definitely a sponge with holes for passing
water through.
<I agree with your identification>
The other sponge
pic has two on it, on the left is a patch of orange that I am unable to
identify, and to the right is a purple sponge which I am assuming is a
tubular sponge.
<Too small, blurry for me to make out>
We have
several of the purple ones growing in different areas of the tank. Since
they are multiplying I am guessing that whatever we're doing is good for
sponge growth. What I am wondering is do we need to do anything
special/different?
<Mmm, nope>
Can you help me identify the black
and orange sponges?
<Not from these, or pix... if you'll read a bit
you'll find that such species, genera, sometimes family ID's require
microscopic examination of sclerites...>
We are enjoying watching
them grow and would like to keep them alive if possible.
<Can be...
their presence is indicative of healthy state... are of use>
None of
our fish bother them, but as far as lighting we only have one blue
actinic and one full spectrum daylight.
<These are likely
non-photosynthetic>
We also have moonlights for nighttime. This
lighting has worked fine thus far since we do not have corals. I have
heard that sponges prefer shaded areas, and indeed the ones that are
more shaded are growing faster. My other question is for the third
picture...(again, sorry for the fuzziness). The appear to be bright
green polyps, and also a colony of peach colored polyps, but are
definitely not star polyps...they are more flower-like and look more
feathery and delicate. I have been trying to look up green polyps but
haven't found any answers. Any ideas on exactly what these are and what
is the best care?
<Look to be clavulariids... can be searched by this
name>
I know our lighting is probably too low for these to survive,
but they are multiplying actually quite rapidly. Sorry for the length of
my questions, and thank you in advance.
~Jennifer
<Read on my
friend. Re-direct your curiosity to delving into what you're interested
in. Bob Fenner> |   
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Sponge/Asc. identification 9/29/05
Is there any chance you could
identify this splendid sponge for me? At
least I think it is a
sponge--it appears to have siphonophores. The
photo was taken in the
Red Sea
<A nice pic... of an ascidian, sea squirt... Please see
here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/ascidians.htm
Bob Fenner> | 
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Have you heard of an orange sea sponge called codmium? 9/10/05
My daughter has a science paper to write, and we are not sure if this is
the correct spelling or not. We have been unable to find information on
the Internet.
Thanks,
Michele Reader
<Mmm, a search on the
Net turns up nothing for this spelling... there is a genus of algae
called "Codium"... otherwise, you might have success perusing our
postings of sponges:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/sponges.htm
Bob Fenner>
Syconoid Sponges...Probably - 08/18/05
Dear Crew,
<<Hiya!>>
I have a problem that I hope you can solve.
<<I'll give it a try.>>
I have a 12 gallon reef tank with almost 40 lbs of live rock
<<Yowza!...how do you have room for anything else?>>, 3 inches of live
sand, a 10 gallon refugium, 65 watt power compact 50/50 light, 1 blue
damsel, a green Chromis, and a hi-fin shrimp goby, a cleaner shrimp, 6
red hermits, 7 snails, and various corals.
On one rock that houses 6
red mushroom corals, I see about 20 small, white, cotton ball looking
objects.
<<A sponge of sorts most likely.>>
The fish seem to
stay away from it, as well as the hermits and shrimp.
<<Hmm...likely
not related to the sponge.>>
The cotton balls also have feather
looking objects coming from the top. Some are about half an inch tall,
the others are about 1/8th inch. Do you have any idea what these are, or
if they are dangerous.
<<Sounds like Syconoid sponges...harmless if
not beneficial.>>
I did have one leather finger coral die and almost
dissolve before I figured it was dead (it didn't lose any color. Could
this be spawn of it.
<<Not likely in my opinion...would look to
other sources/problems.>>
Also what confuses me the most is they are
on the back of the rock, out of the light, towards the back of the tank.
<<Yes...many sponges prosper in these type conditions...helps prevent
being overgrown by algae.>>
Thank you so much
Josh
<<Always
welcome my friend, EricR>> Syconoid Sponges...Probably (II) -
08/19/05
Dear Eric,
<<Joshua>>
Thank you so much for the
info. It really eased my mind.
Joshua.
<<Is my pleasure to
assist and assure. EricR>>
ID Troublesome Encrusting Algae, Sponge
Hi guys,
I've
searched & scanned the archive and couldn't figure out what this
is... Photos are attached. It's a reddish-brown, spongy algae (or
sponge?)
<The latter>
that encrusts rock, GSP fairly quickly.
I originally was scrubbing it off with a toothbrush, but now I'm
seeing little bits of it replicating/seeding in more & more places.
Can you tell me (a) what it is, and (b) how to either exterminate
it, or at least keep it under control?
Thanks!!
John
<Likely nutrient limitation is your best approach here... along with
physical removal, perhaps a search for a purposeful predator. Bob
Fenner> |
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Sponge IDs? 7/19/05
Dear Sir bob,
<Not knighted... yet!>
Good day!
<And to you>
First and foremost, I visited your
website and read some letters of your fans and sponge enthusiasts. Well,
I'm very satisfied of your scientific information and explanation
regarding sponge or related to sponge.
In this connection, I would
like to ask a favor from you or need your help to check the sponge
images in their scientific names of our new launched POPPE IMAGES for
some of the images cannot be identified or we are confused which is
based on the picture only. Even if we have some books for reference but
still it is not enough to relay the right or correct information to the
possible client.
<Uhhhh...>
It's really a great honor and a
great privilege for us that you will correct our works. For further
information, please visit our website. www.poppe-images.com
Looking
forward to hear from you soon.
Sincerely yours,
LEONOR O. ABAD
Marketing Correspondent
Conchology, Inc.
Cebu Light Industrial
Park,
Basak, Lapu-Lapu City,
Cebu, Philippines
Web : www.
conchology.be
<Few Sponges can be accurately identified to species
from photographs... I would contact folks who specialize in poriferan
systematics (mostly at colleges), with specimens or parts of colonies...
and ask for their help. Bob Fenner> Re: Sponge IDs 7/20/05
Dear Mr. Bob,
Good day!
<And to you>
Sorry for the "sir"
thing for we have the standard to call the person
that way as a sign
of respect.
<I see>
Thank you for the reply. I really
appreciated even in your busiest day
still you manage to answer me.
<We answer all>
And I would like to thank you also as what you said
in your replied
letter that you are going to contact some of your
friends or colleagues
who specify in Poriferan to ask them for help.
<Ah, good... the University at Banos (where fishbase.org is produced) I
believe should have some folks that can/will help>
Looking forward
to hear the good news from you.
More power!
<Be chatting, Bob
Fenner>
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