Orange Fan Sponge

[Urchinhead]

fishhead2, just like my user profile says, I'm in Toronto, Canada.

They don't have a website, and it probably wouldn't be a good idea to ship Toronto to SoCal.

 

Sorry mate! Didn't even think to check your profile! Doom on me! Thanks for the idiot assist though.

[c est ma]

Better be safe than sorry, IMO.

There are many risks with keeping corals/sponges etc. I would just take all the care possible and minimize those risks even if they're minuscule.

 

Nice sponges in those pics!

 

Definitely the best protocol.

 

But there is surely a range of air-tolerance in sponges, as well. Otherwise they wouldn't be one of the common hitch hikers on LR, which is often exposed to air betwixt collection and set-up in a tank.

 

No doubt, the flashier the species, the most vulnerable it is to air exposure!

 

--Diane

[Pacifique]

I read somewhere that blue sponges are the least tolerant to air exposure, and that orange sponges can tolerate it in small amounts.

[dshnarw]

I read somewhere that blue sponges are the least tolerant to air exposure, and that orange sponges can tolerate it in small amounts.

 

It's all very species dependent. In general, the species that are imported for the aquarium trade are from lower reef slopes and similar areas that never experience air exposure. Blue sponges are certainly in that category, orange sponges also for the most part.

 

Other sponges are VERY air tolerant - even living in the intertidal zones.

 

This is my favorite pic when people ask about sponges and air tolerance, from an intertidal area of Singapore I'm building a biotope tank to mimic:

 

As Diane said, though, the best policy is to avoid removing a sponge from water at all.

[yardboy]

Well, the wonder of research on the internet comes through. The original question has been answered: Yes, No, maybe so, and species dependent! Seems as if that covers all the possibilities. I'd heard about not exposing them to air, and so when I collected some purple sponge from the jetties for my nano, I was very careful not to let them get exposed to air. They died anyway. Sigh. I've got some growing in my larger tanks and refugiums that's grey, and it had to have been exposed to air to have ever gotten in the tanks, and it's a borderline pest.

[dshnarw]

Well, the wonder of research on the internet comes through. The original question has been answered: Yes, No, maybe so, and species dependent! Seems as if that covers all the possibilities. I'd heard about not exposing them to air, and so when I collected some purple sponge from the jetties for my nano, I was very careful not to let them get exposed to air. They died anyway. Sigh. I've got some growing in my larger tanks and refugiums that's grey, and it had to have been exposed to air to have ever gotten in the tanks, and it's a borderline pest.

 

speaking of the jetties nano - you should update

[c est ma]

yardboy--LOL!

 

 

 

It's all very species dependent. In general, the species that are imported for the aquarium trade are from lower reef slopes and similar areas that never experience air exposure. Blue sponges are certainly in that category, orange sponges also for the most part.

 

Other sponges are VERY air tolerant - even living in the intertidal zones.

 

This is my favorite pic when people ask about sponges and air tolerance, from an intertidal area of Singapore I'm building a biotope tank to mimic:

 

As Diane said, though, the best policy is to avoid removing a sponge from water at all.

 

 

Daniel, very cool pics!

 

--Diane

[jsw]

Not to throw fuel on the fire, but I have a blue sponge that has been exposed to air numerous times as well. It's still growing a lot faster than I'd expect out of a sponge. It has been in my tank for 6 mos or so. Probably been out in the air 3 times.