Identification of invasive sponge? Maybe

[trigon 350]

Hi

I'm hoping someone can help, my tank has been running approximately 7 months old.
I used artificial eco rock from tmc.

I have this stuff thats growing more and more, its got to a point where it is choking some of my corals and killing them.

Its this white root looking stuff, seems to like shade more, its white in colour and brushes off relatively easy but doesn't dissappear.
I thought it was a sponge so took the rock for 15 mins and it didnt care at all.
This is now on all my rocks.

Has anyone come across it before and any ideas how to kill it.

Brushing it i think just make it spread around the tank even more.

Thanks in advance

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

Hi

I'm hoping someone can help, my tank has been running approximately 7 months old.
I used artificial eco rock from tmc.

I have this stuff thats growing more and more, its got to a point where it is choking some of my corals and killing them.

Its this white root looking stuff, seems to like shade more, its white in colour and brushes off relatively easy but doesn't dissappear.
I thought it was a sponge so took the rock for 15 mins and it didnt care at all.
This is now on all my rocks.

Has anyone come across it before and any ideas how to kill it.

Brushing it i think just make it spread around the tank even more.

Thanks in advance

Sponge, I've found it harmless, it did go through a growth spurt in my tank and grew all the way up the skeleton of some of my branching LPS and even up the stalks on my zoas but ultimately didn't affect them and died off within a few weeks. Still here and there but never bothered anything

 

[trigon 350]

Sponge, I've found it harmless, it did go through a growth spurt in my tank and grew all the way up the skeleton of some of my branching LPS and even up the stalks on my zoas but ultimately didn't affect them and died off within a few weeks. Still here and there but never bothered anything

Thanks for the reply, it smothered my 2 firework clove colonies, they closed and eventually died

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

Thanks for the reply, it smothered my 2 firework clove colonies, they closed and eventually died

Huh, could your silicates be high? High silicates causes excess growth in sponge

 

[trigon 350]

I use rodi water, 10% change every week.
Can silicates get in any other way?

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

I use rodi water, 10% change every week.
Can silicates get in any other way?

When was the last time you changed the sediment filter?

Constantly stirring the sandbed could also do it

 

[trigon 350]

When was the last time you changed the sediment filter?

Constantly stirring the sandbed could also do it

Sorry i buy the water in and mix my own reef salt. Funny you mention the sand bed though as i have a decent size diamond goby and every day he pretty much moves the hole tank around. Fun to watch, keeps the floor algae free but also annoying

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

@ISpeakForTheSeas and @Randy Holmes-Farley can help you from here on out, that's about as far as I go with silicates and sponges

 

[trigon 350]

Thanks for your help, appreciated

 

[trigon 350]

Another image of more of the stuff behind the shrimp

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

@ISpeakForTheSeas and @Randy Holmes-Farley can help you from here on out, that's about as far as I go with silicates and sponges

Some removal suggestions that may help:

The best way I've heard to control sponge growth at this point is to use a steel straw to scrape and siphon out the sponge you want to remove. Sometimes you can create bad conditions for them and kill them off that way, but that's typically much harder and not always effective.

Some other sponge removal methods:

Other suggestions include exposing the sponge to air (obviously not a guaranteed solution, and definitely not viable for this situation); hydrogen peroxide dipping the sponge (again, not viable here); injecting the sponge with hydrogen peroxide, vinegar, boiling water, or air; microbubbles in the display; and a few more. Predation is not usually a good solution for this issue

Basically, if the sponges have enough food and enough trace elements (which for most sponges includes silicates) to meet their needs, then you’ll see their populations booming.

If you can figure out what’s allowing them to thrive in your tank, then you can deal with that root cause and get rid of them.

Some people may suggest scrubbing with a soft toothbrush to try and avoid irritating the zoas.

Also, with regards to zoas and palys in case this is an issue for your tank:

Yeah, if you do scrub it off in a bowl of tank water, since it's growing on palys, you may want to run carbon in the bowl to absorb any toxins.

 

[trigon 350]

Thank you