Is this a sponge?

Poriferabob

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 23, 2016
Messages
160
Reaction score
44
What state or country do you live in
Florida
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I’ve recently had issues with a grayish sponge like growth in my sps colonies. It looks like detritus but when I try to blow it off it stays put.
It kills the coral tissue in these spots. What the heck is this?

49675A37-44A6-4BEF-8F5B-411B3C71E91B.jpeg
 
It sounds like a sponge. You might try using a small diameter steel straw using something as a gasket to use is as a nozzle in a 9/16" diameter siphon hose and siphon it out. Reason for using a small diameter nozzle in a large hose is to increase the suction at the end of the nozzle but it will clog easier so some experimentation may be needed to find the right size to remove the sponge without hurting your acro. After siphoning out as much as you can use a syrenge filled with H2O2 with a long needle and gently squirt small amount (1-2 ml) into the remaining sponge. This is a very gentle operation and be conservative at first until you know what your acro can tolerate.

Fortunately it doens't look like a black Terpios spp. sponge which would aggressively encrust your acro and smother it. I've only seen it once in an LFS display aquarium and it was a serious pain to get rid of and some colonies had to be tossed.
 

TOP 10 Trending Threads

WHICH REEFING RABBIT HOLE DO YOU KEEP FALLING INTO?

  • Coral species and identification

    Votes: 5 12.5%
  • Fish behavior or breeding

    Votes: 1 2.5%
  • Water chemistry and nutrients

    Votes: 14 35.0%
  • Aquascaping and tank design

    Votes: 5 12.5%
  • Equipment, DIY, or automation

    Votes: 7 17.5%
  • Photography and videography

    Votes: 2 5.0%
  • Coral propagation and grow-out

    Votes: 3 7.5%
  • Microfauna and live foods

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Other (Post in the comments)

    Votes: 3 7.5%
Back
Top
Home
Post thread…
Market
What's new