Ok guys...Name that sponge and WHAT WILL EAT IT. I've scraped it off a number of live rocks including rinsing with RO water and it continues to come back within days/weeks. It's not attractive and would love to have it gone!
Best way to get rid of sponge gone wild...
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themcnertney
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Send it to me. Just kidding.
But really I am not sure why you want to rid the sponge. They are great. Maybe move them to your sump?
But really I am not sure why you want to rid the sponge. They are great. Maybe move them to your sump?
My Coral Beauty will not touch it...
Maybe it would help if I took out my carbon...
I wish I could send them all to you...but they are on every live rock in the tank...
I wouldn't mind them if they stayed out of sight on the bottom of my live rock...or were a nice color like blue, red or yellow...just not whitish gray.
Do brittle or serpent stars eat sponge. My stars haven't seem to be excited about them, but I can't tell if they are eating them or not...
That's a good sign you have them from what I've read. They are beneficial. I guess if you wanted to get rid of them, you could move the rock to more exposed light? I had a couple that I inadvertently killed because I moved by rock to another location and bright light............. but then again, it might just grow back in another shaded area 
ca1ore
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Most sponges are beneficial but there are a few sponges that can be invasive. Some can over grow corals and grow rather fast.
Not sure how to rid the tank of them, I spend most of my time trying to grow them.
May have to take the rock out that is is on and dry it out to kill it. It will kill everything else on the rock too.
Scrubbing probably isn't working because it seems to come back from a small piece and may be actually spreading it.
Not sure how to rid the tank of them, I spend most of my time trying to grow them.
May have to take the rock out that is is on and dry it out to kill it. It will kill everything else on the rock too.
Scrubbing probably isn't working because it seems to come back from a small piece and may be actually spreading it.
Oldsalt
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Five Reasons Sponges Are BAD For A Coral Reef Aquarium | Reef Builders | The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog
Sponges are some of the most remarkable life forms that we can encounter in the ocean. These resilient and diverse ‘creatures’ are not quite single celled, not quite organisms, but colonies of single…
reefbuilders.com
Oldsalt
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Highly doubtful but what's the harm in trying? Careful experimentation can find solutions to perplexing problems.
A friend of mine placed a small mirror on the sand so it reflected light into the dark space where sponge was thriving. It worked a treat but it was a pain to move it around to get sponges in tight places.
jeffchapok
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Try boiling RODI water, it works great on algae.
If you must get rid of it (or at least try to keep it in check), I'd go with the Hydrogen peroxide or boiling water injections. DO NOT try to scrape it away - any small particle will happily regrow into a whole new sponge.
Personally, I encourage their growth and admire their different colors and shapes. Just another part of a healthy ecosystem IMO.
Personally, I encourage their growth and admire their different colors and shapes. Just another part of a healthy ecosystem IMO.
you can lose reefs to this type of growth.
There is no way to label a sponge good or bad based on genus
some tanks select, some tanks suppress, your indicator was inability to remove it (strong growback). I had an acan frag that was approaching 7 years old with this infested so bad in it, polyps had to poke through. It was immune to scraping, 35% peroxide, so I tossed the whole frag in the trash / universal control style, not willing to risk my 16 yr old system to a rocks takeover.
There is no way to label a sponge good or bad based on genus
some tanks select, some tanks suppress, your indicator was inability to remove it (strong growback). I had an acan frag that was approaching 7 years old with this infested so bad in it, polyps had to poke through. It was immune to scraping, 35% peroxide, so I tossed the whole frag in the trash / universal control style, not willing to risk my 16 yr old system to a rocks takeover.
You might try using stainless steel straws to scrap and siphon it out. H2O2 injected into it should work. Most cryptic dpongez feed off labile Dissolved Organic Carbon, DOC, some forms promote pathogenic microbes in the coral holobiont so are definitely benrficial. How old is your system? I've seen different sponges show up and disappear like the various algaes when a system matures
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