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Cultivated Reef

Being over-run by sponges


Winged Ocean

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Hi all.

On my zoanthid rock, yellow sponges are growing and smothering out my zoanthids. THe sponges are pretty, but I don't appreciate them killing my zoanthids.

On my star polyp rock, a white sponge is encrusting it and smothering out the polyps that couldn't grow thru the sponge.

These rocks have been in and out of the tank, for rearranging and such, so air contact didn't effect them.

Any suggestions?

Thanks :)

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just rip them off. i'd try to do it underwater otherwise their structure collapses a bit under its on weight in the air and it becomes a little more difficult. it doesn't have to be in the tank, just so that the animal is suspended in water. (i.e. separate bin)

 

i'd use the yellow sponge to 'weld' LR together or something decorative if it's growing so well. jmo

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Winged,

If you can get them off the rock in one piece...You shoud think about trading/selling them. I don't know how many are interested in them though.

 

TinyReef,

I just realised how close you are to me. I'm in Ocean County NJ.

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wigguh,

shhh, there's more of us around than you realize! :

 

:happy:

 

sponge sculptures, wigguh's got a point. anytime you can turn a nuisance into $$$, it should be exploited. ;)

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what ever you do don't take that rock out of the water, any sponge that is exsposed to air will die and it will more then likly die in the tank. So try to keep it under water.

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Let 'em grow. Keep it in check with a pair of tweezers. It's all about diversity. The more interesting organisms you can harbor the better. Respect the sponge.

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just keep an eye on the sponges. while thy can be helpfull, they can also be toxic with noxious side chemicals released just like some softies. If the sponge gets out of hand, try pinching it back with forceps like ^^^^^^^^ said and trans planting it. the zoos can also be moved you know..... depending on species, they grow in a matt or are single colonial buds.

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Thanks for all the replies. The yellow sponge is more of an encrusting type that spreads across the rock. It has already been exposed to air, but didn't harm it any. I have several places that it is beginning to grow. I have had the same sponge in another one of my tanks, but when the heater was accidentally un-plugged, the sponge didn't tolerate the temperature drop. If the zoanthids grew faster then this sponge, I wouldn't mind it as much. I'm most likely just going to leave it be since I have the other zoo's of the same color elsewhere's. The sponge adds nice color too. Thanks all. :)

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