Sponge Recovery

[Michael_]

Sup guys

 

I've had this orange finger sponge for a few months, and it's been through so much - high nitrates, parameter changes, etc.  It's lost branches and shrunk.  I've finally been able to get it into a stable, clean tank without fish, and I'm curious about it's recovery. Sometimes when I squeeze it lightly, it releases that orange color on my fingers.  Is it basically dead?  Will it recover on it's own or do I need to help it somehow?  how do I get the algae off it?

 

Thanks

[WV Reefer]

47 minutes ago, Michael_ said:

Sup guys

 

I've had this orange finger sponge for a few months, and it's been through so much - high nitrates, parameter changes, etc.  It's lost branches and shrunk.  I've finally been able to get it into a stable, clean tank without fish, and I'm curious about it's recovery. Sometimes when I squeeze it lightly, it releases that orange color on my fingers.  Is it basically dead?  Will it recover on it's own or do I need to help it somehow?  how do I get the algae off it?

 

Thanks

It looks pretty bad. Sponges have small openings all over them, can you see if any of them are open? If not I would get it out if there.  Some sponges can release bad things as they die.  

 

 

Heres a pic of what I mean:

 

 

Yours wont look exactly the same but you get the point. 

[mcarroll]

Well, stop squeezing the juice out of him for starters.  😉

 

Can you tell us about the tank he's in now?  Test results?  Lighting?  Co-inhabitants?

 

How does all that compare with the old tank?

 

My guess it that he won't make it....but that's just the odds, nothing about your tank. 

 

 Not sure whether these types of sponges are photosynthetic, and most non-photosynthetic sponges don't fare too well in tanks due to lack of food.  (Not unlike NPS corals.)