Sponge Under Zoas?

[e12pilot]

Check it:

 

 

This sponge/something colony that has taken up residence under my blue zoa frag is ####### me off. It has like completely infested the aquamed base and is ####### the zoas off something fierce.

 

Any ideas how to kill it? As you can see it is a little hard to remove the zoas from the auqamed.

 

The sponges have not spread to the rest of the tank or any other spot.

 

HELP!

 

Thanks.

[colinadam]

Start fragging.

 

I had a yellow sponge that ruined one of my favorite zoa's.

 

If you can pop the individual zoa's off with a razor you can glue the polyps back using super glue gel.

[e12pilot]

Start fragging.

 

I had a yellow sponge that ruined one of my favorite zoa's.

 

If you can pop the individual zoa's off with a razor you can glue the polyps back using super glue gel.

 

Suck. Thanks for the advice though....This will be awesome :-)

[13angels]

Sponges are supposed to die if they are exposed to air, I'd take it out of the water for a few minutes, that way you don't harm your zoas, but to be honest i'm jealous i think sponges are amazing creatures I'd probably let it be more than likely it will not hurt your polyps.

[Zombo]

I have those too -- they look like translucent air filled condoms...any ID on what they are?

[dopamine]

I have the same thing. But it is under some zoanthids that I really don't care about losing. I hate the look of the sponge, looks like it is suffocating them.

 

prolly going to just pull the rock out because I have crazy coraline covered rocks from my work tank that is getting broken down.

 

Let me know if you find out how to kill this thing. Just out of curiosity.

[jeremai]

Sponges and zoanthids live together in the wild, it's a common symbiosis. Sponges don't kill zoanthids. I think it's a great find - most people would like to see more filter-feeding organisms in their tanks.

 

By the by, exposing most types of sponges to air causes no harm, especially Caribbean sponges. That myth is perpetrated by the unfortunate folks who don't want to blame the death of a prized specimen on inadequate care.

[e12pilot]

Thanks everyone for the responses. I spent the last few minutes fragging this frag and hopefully all will be ok.

 

I agree on the sponge being really cool, it just looked horrible on this frag. Something about it was just not pleasing to look at....

 

To cover the process I used:

 

- Pulled the frag out of the water and put in a container of tank water.

- Used tweezers and a razor blade to pull away as much sponge as possible, the large pieces just sorta fell off when I touched them

- Spent a long time removing as much sponge material as possible from the zoa base.

- Cut a few polyps away from the main mat and triple checked that they were 100% bare. Super glued those guys on a frag plug (about 4 individual polyps).

- I continued tweezing the main mat, and kept replacing the container water with fresh tank water every few minutes until every last trace of the sponge was gone.

- Mounted main mat to a piece of rubble

 

Thats it, hopefully everything will open in a few days and the sponge won't return. Will let everyone know how this goes.

[davidr2340]

I had the same thing in my Fire and Ice colony...

 

 

 

 

 

I just let it be... I think the Zoas won, 'cause I see no more evidence of that sponge!

[lakshwadeep]

By the by, exposing most types of sponges to air causes no harm, especially Caribbean sponges. That myth is perpetrated by the unfortunate folks who don't want to blame the death of a prized specimen on inadequate care.

 

I think your statement is partially correct after reading this article by Ron Shimek. If you have more info, then feel free to give a link.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-07/rs/index.php

 

As a general rule, most sponges should never be exposed to air. Many shallow water sponges produce copious amounts of mucus, and this mucus can form a protective layer if the sponge is exposed to air. These species are not affected at all by even prolonged exposure to air. Many moderate to deep water sponges, however, often lack such a mucous coat, and if they are exposed to air, even briefly, many of the very small passages in their water system become filled with air and are effectively plugged. The animal has no way to clear this air from its tiny tubules and cells adjacent to air die, decompose and produce gases which plug other tubes. This effect cascades and the sponge dies. These animals are never naturally exposed to air or bubbles, and air is deadly to them. As aquarists seldom know where their sponges originate, it is prudent not to cause problems by carelessly handling the animals at the air/water interface. Additionally, it is necessary to be aware of the reef aquarium's water conditions...

[Lepomis]

Nice additions to a tank. II have several sponges in my tank currenly. All of course hitchickers. I have one similar to the above pictures. My favorite sponge has about engulfed a pink zoa frag I have. I find the sponge a nice addition it is a nice pink/purple sponge that is continuing to spread. Only a few zoas remain but are losing ground.

 

[e12pilot]

Awesome sponge! That thing is really cool looking.

 

Nice additions to a tank. II have several sponges in my tank currenly. All of course hitchickers. I have one similar to the above pictures. My favorite sponge has about engulfed a pink zoa frag I have. I find the sponge a nice addition it is a nice pink/purple sponge that is continuing to spread. Only a few zoas remain but are losing ground.