HELP I need info on sponges PLEASE

[chevyjaxon]

I have gotten LR today and 2 pieces are completely encrusted with sponges how do I feed these guys? I completley forgot to ask when I got them. I need all the info I can get on sponges I am completley clueless on these organisms

[fishyfolks]

Well, I'm SURE someone here knows more about sponges than I do! However, I do have a lot of sponge in my tank....all different colors like pink, yellow, white and orange. I don't feed them anything at all. They seem to just eat what they can. I have read that they are natural suspension feeders, filtering food from the water. Whatever you put in that is left over or the fish cant grab, the sponges will. I hope this helps! They can be really pretty and quite a cool color introduction to any tank.

[Keri]

Hopefully they were not exposed to air? Air becomes trapped in them and they die.....but you may see some regrowth eventually. They will find their own food provided that your water quality is excellent :)

[fishyfolks]

Yeah I have definately heard that before...Although, I have had mine out in the air for quite a while at a time.....well more than a few minutes anyways. When I have rearranged rock I've left them out for a bit. I do think that you need to have fairly good water quality, but they always seem to keep growing? I'm sure you'll be fine. :biggrin:

[chevyjaxon]

never knew that, yeah they have seen air:neutral:

[justinl]

there are some sponges that are exposed to air regularly just from the tides. But most sponges will perish if they get air stuck in them. just goes to show you cant really generalize. How long were they out of water? Assuming the sponges you have are the regular hitch hiking ones, they will likely survive, feeding or not. pics?

most sponges (only a few freaks of nature) are suspension feeders that feed on the very smallest of microplankton, phytoplankton and dissolved nutrients.

[chevyjaxon]

Here is the best pic I could get
2406
Hope this helps

[Snappy]

They are a filter feeder and don't usually like bright light.

[digital-audiophile]

I have a number of different hitch hiker sponges, one that has actually grown rather large in the past year. I've never done anything for them and they seem to do just fine.

[Brent F]

Biggest thing for sponges is an established tank. My live rock came with pink and with white encrusting sponges which doing fine.

[BC564]

sponges are great.....you get to benefit from their filtering and require really nothing from you.

[bv_reefer]

I have a bunch of hitch hiking ones on the bottom of one of my rocks, it seems that the only places they grow in my tank are where it's complete shade, they grow like mad though (pink ones especially), i never bother feeding them or anything either.