Australian Spider Sponge Difficulty

[livinlifeinBKK]

So how difficult are the Australian Spider Sponges to keep long term? I've never had much luck with sponges but that's because I haven't tried many and don't know exactly how to give them the proper conditions because idk what those conditions would be. A few of these sponges came up for sale and they look really awesome and was wondering how difficult they are in particular...can anyone give some advice with this?

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

 

[dstockwell]

Aussie Spider Sponge care tips?

Anyone have any long term success with them? (6 months to 1 year+) If so, could you please share what you're feeding, how often, optimal placement / PAR & flow? I'd like to try one again but the last one did well for about a month before slowly withering away.

www.reef2reef.com

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

They sound like they require a pretty delicate balance emphasizing growth of the sponge which isn't easy...they look incredible but not exactly a cheap buy for something that may or may not make it even with special supplements...if anyone else has experience beyond what's in the link above please lmk

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I know I found some valuable info on keeping these guys a while a back from some people who kept them long term (if I recall, a couple of them had them for a couple of years), but I can't remember where I found it at the moment. I'll update if I remember where to find the info again.

As mentioned in the linked thread above, though, the NPS zoas growing in the sponge are parasitic, so you have to be careful to help keep the sponge growing as fast or faster than the zoas (not an easy task at this point). From everything I've heard, these sponges are substantially harder to care for than the average as a result. They die for most people within weeks or months of them being added to the tank.

I would guess you would see the best success with these guys by maintaining good nutrient levels and providing proper bacteria species as feed (though some people have reported success with phytoplankton, so some species of phyto - likely the smaller ones - may work as well), but - from the few sponges I've looked at the diets of in depth - the more important nutrient levels may be the organic nutrient levels (which, to my knowledge, we can't really test for with hobbyist test kits). Basically, proper flow, proper (not normally measurable) nutrient levels, and proper feeding (with the proper feeding possibly involving both phyto, bacteria, and dissolved and particulate organic nutrients) seem to be the key to keeping most NPS sponges from what I've read.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

I know I found some valuable info on keeping these guys a while a back from some people who kept them long term (if I recall, a couple of them had them for a couple of years), but I can't remember where I found it at the moment. I'll update if I remember where to find the info again.

As mentioned in the linked thread above, though, the NPS zoas growing in the sponge are parasitic, so you have to be careful to help keep the sponge growing as fast or faster than the zoas (not an easy task at this point). From everything I've heard, these sponges are substantially harder to care for than the average as a result. They die for most people within weeks or months of them being added to the tank.

I would guess you would see the best success with these guys by maintaining good nutrient levels and providing proper bacteria species as feed (though some people have reported success with phytoplankton, so some species of phyto - likely the smaller ones - may work as well), but - from the few sponges I've looked at the diets of in depth - the more important nutrient levels may be the organic nutrient levels (which, to my knowledge, we can't really test for with hobbyist test kits). Basically, proper flow, proper (not normally measurable) nutrient levels, and proper feeding (with the proper feeding possibly involving both phyto, bacteria, and dissolved and particulate organic nutrients) seem to be the key to keeping most NPS sponges from what I've read.

I'm sure some of the supplements like Sponge KZ would help but if they're that tricky, I think I'll pass for now since I have other primary focuses atm (you know what I'm talking about haha)