Black sponge

[KittenChiu]

I've been told this is black sponge. Do I remove it? Will it spread?

 

[Coralreefer1]

It definitely is a type of sponge. It will grow and spread. Sponges are filter feeders and good for reef tanks.

 

[High ICP]

I've been told this is black sponge. Do I remove it? Will it spread?

Black is pretty rare. I have never seen it for sale

I would not get rid of it

If it is the very soft foamy black sponge, it may form long tubular vestibular chambers

It only takes a small piece to propagate. I hit mine large colony with a powerhead flow and there were black sponges everywhere. Mine grew in dark fuge and under Kessils

I would love to buy a small “frag” when I get my system and running

 

[High ICP]

Black is pretty rare. I have never seen it for sale

I would not get rid of it

If it is the very soft foamy black sponge, it may form long tubular vestibular chambers

It only takes a small piece to propagate. I hit mine large colony with a powerhead flow and there were black sponges everywhere. Mine grew in dark fuge and under Kessils

I would love to buy a small “frag” when I get my system and running

Rule of thumb with sponges, if they hit air, they die

 

[Tiger Brown]

This is interesting as there are a lot of opinions out there about sponges in general, good and bad. Some say they indicate good water quality, some say they take over rock and even coral. Some say air will kill them, some say that is ridiculous, nothing kills them, lol. If you like how it looks KittenChiu I would just keep an eye on it to make sure all your inverts aren't getting encroached upon. Here is an article arguing for sponges being bad for reef tanks https://reefbuilders.com/2018/04/02/five-reasons-sponges-are-bad-for-a-coral-reef-tank/

 

[MikeW9788]

Reading that has me worried, I purposely saved a big rock from my old tank because it was covered in a big yellow sponge.. now I think I should remove it before it has a chance to spread to my main aquascape.

 

[Tiger Brown]

Reading that has me worried, I purposely saved a big rock from my old tank because it was covered in a big yellow sponge.. now I think I should remove it before it has a chance to spread to my main aquascape.

If you like the way it looks I would just keep an eye on it. That article was pretty negative, I think if sponges were really that terrible more people on this forum would speak up about them. Maybe some more will but if your sponge grows slowly I'm not sure I'd worry about it. Just my opinion of course!

 

[KittenChiu]

I am worried about it growing over corals. I think I will move it into the refgugium just in case. But the rock was out of water for maybe 20 minutes when I was rearranging the tank and it hasn't seem to have affected the sponge at all.

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

I've been told this is black sponge. Do I remove it? Will it spread?

I've had sponges that when they die they turn black I wonder if that's what's going on here

 

[Wolf89]

I am worried about it growing over corals. I think I will move it into the refgugium just in case. But the rock was out of water for maybe 20 minutes when I was rearranging the tank and it hasn't seem to have affected the sponge at all.

if its exposed to air for even a second, it's a death sentence. Might take a few weeks, but in my experience its going to die for sure

 

[Phycodurus]

i came across this thread after reading that reefbuilders Five Reasons article, and subsequently dug around for more reef2reef posts on sponge-keeping experiences (didn’t find all that many).

@KittenChiu, any update on the black sponge?

myself, i added a yellow tree sponge (Ptilocaulis sp.) and a “red knob encrusting sponge” (genus?) back at the start of june to my main 180G tank. both are doing well (quite beautiful, actually). ;Happy

the main point i took away from the reefbuilders article, is that stony corals and sponges ultimately compete with each other. i was also not aware of poriferans releasing toxins, but i was vaguely aware that encrusting sponges can get invasive (kinda like mushrooms). although i did find that article one-sided, i guess sponges (as a group) are not as benign as i first thought.

my reason to post a reply here is to inquire on any experiences where “structural” sponges (like tree sponges, ball sponges, vase/tube sponges) have outcompeted encrusting sponges in a manner similar to how macroalgae can potentially out-compete algae like Derbesia & Bryopsis to keep it in check.

ultimately, i plan to add a couple Centropyge angels & copperband butterflies to my 180G tank, and maybe a regal angel. i’m sure i can expect nibbling, but hopefully not total consumption. ;Inpain