Parasite predators introduced with live rock

[Lasse]

Do European reefers have insight into predator control of marine ich in our ecosystems.

Other may - but I do not have insight in this. But in general - if there is living or new organic matter - there is probably some organism that have learned to get the needed carbon from them.

In my case - I believe that my corals and water movement function as a living filter for all free swimming organisms

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Subsea]

Other may - but I do not have insight in this. But in general - if there is living or new organic matter - there is probably some organism that have learned to get the needed carbon from them.

In my case - I believe that my corals and water movement function as a living filter for all free swimming organisms

Sincerely Lasse

“In my case - I believe that my corals and water movement function as a living filter for all free swimming organisms”

@Lasse

Lets expand corals to include diverse filter feeders:

https://www.coris.noaa.gov/activities/resourceCD/resources/sponge_lp.pdf

This does not detail what marine sponges capture, but it is good science on how sponges process carbon in marine food webs.

A Multi-Species Investigation of Sponges’ Filtering Activity towards Marine Microalgae

Chronic discharge of surplus organic matter is a typical side effect of fish aquaculture, occasionally leading to coastal eutrophication and excessive phytoplankton growth. Owing to their innate filter-feeding capacity, marine sponges could mitigate environmental ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

This gets into what sponges remove from the marine “food web”.
Sponges (Porifera), the oldest extant filter-feeding macroinvertebrates [7], have recently been viewed as promising candidates for IMTA scenarios [8,9] due to their capability to filter large volumes of water [10,11,12] and retain microorganisms or other particles of various sizes, ranging from 0.1 to 50 μm [13,14,15], with high efficiency (75–99%) [11,14,16,17]. Having developed intricate patterns of symbiotic associations with microbial communities, sponges are among the most diverse and complex holobionts in the marine environment [18] and possess unique feeding mechanisms. Associated microbiomes render sponges capable of distinct nutritional strategies that extend beyond the standard heterotrophy described above. Hence, depending on the species and environmental parameters, sponges can benefit from photosynthesis [17], or feed on dissolved organic matter (DOM) [19]. In addition to these appealing characteristics, sponges do sustain a “gold mine” of bioactive compounds with pharmaceutical [20] and cosmetic potential [21], while the biomass of some species can be exploited for the production of bath sponges [22]. By offering several valorization opportunities, cultivation of sponges can become an extra source of profit for fish farmers and, thus, their inclusion in IMTA systems is rather tempting.

 

[Lasse]

“We also discussed how the longer a tank is setup, the more manageable diseases seem to be.

That´s my experiences too, It seem - when you read all disease threads here at R2R that newly started and aquarium younger than 1 year are overrepresented - especially if it is newcomers. However - this could be due to many things - including that more experienced aquarists know how to handle the situation and don't ask for advice.

Lets expand corals to include diverse filter feeders:

My bad - forgotten that. My tank have a lot of sponges - I use them as an indication that everything works well

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Subsea]

That´s my experiences too, It seem - when you read all disease threads here at R2R that newly started and aquarium younger than 1 year are overrepresented - especially if it is newcomers. However - this could be due to many things - including that more experienced aquarists know how to handle the situation and don't ask for advice.


My bad - forgotten that. My tank have a lot of sponges - I use them as an indication that everything works well

Sincerely Lasse

@Lasse
I say ”Sponges may be one reason your ecosystem thrives.“

I just did get two new Red Ball Sponges and one of them developed a bacteria infection. When I moved sponge, the smell convinced me to dispose of dying sponge.

My newest and smallest tank: 2 yr old at 30G.

 

[Subsea]

Any micro biologist out there?

This is one species of sponge and what it removed from water column.

Natural diet and grazing rate of the temperate sponge Dysidea avara (Demospongiae, Dendroceratida) throughout an annual cycle

Natural diet and grazing rate of the temperate sponge Dysidea avara(Demospongiae, Dendroceratida) throughout an annual cycle​

Marta Ribes*, Rafel Coma, Josep-Maria Gili​

Institut de Ciències del Mar (CSIC), Passeig Joan de Borbó s/n, E-08039 Barcelona, Spain
*E-mail: [email protected]
ABSTRACT: Sponges are one of the major invertebrate groups inhabiting hard-bottom communities worldwide. In this study, we measured in situ rates of grazing on DOC (dissolved organic carbon), POC (particulate organic carbon), and pico-, nano- and microplankton for the common temperate sponge Dysidea avara throughout a yearly cycle. The natural diet of the species was highly heterogeneous and included procaryotes (heterotrophic bacteria, Prochlorococcus sp., Synechococcussp.) and eucaryotes (protozoa, phytoplankton, and ciliates) ranging in size from 0.5 ± 0.3 (heterotrophic bacteria) to 70 ± 0.3 µm (pennate diatoms). Procaryotic cell clearance rates were higher than those for the other groups, suggesting a higher grazing efficiency upon these prey types. Specific clearance rates showed a pattern of decrease with sponge size increase, although they did not vary with prey concentration or with temperature. Overall, procaryotes contributed 74 ± 14% of the total ingested carbon, pico- and nanoeucaryotes contributed 11 ± 3%, and phytoplankton contributed 11 ± 10%. Therefore, Dysidea avara obtained 85% of its ingested carbon from the fraction smaller than 5 µm and 15% from the fraction larger than 5 µm. However, the partial contributions of the different groups varied seasonally, following the planktonic composition of the water column. During winter, phytoplankton was an important component of the total uptake (26%), whereas during the rest of the year it contributed less than 7% of the total uptake. The capacity of this sponge to feed on a broad size range of prey allowed it to maintain rather constant food uptake throughout the year. These results show the importance of particle type (size) for selective uptake in sponges, as well as the relevance of phytoplankton in the sponge diet. This trophic plasticity may represent an advantage for the species because it attenuates the effects of seasonal fluctuations in the planktonic community. This plasticity in trophic ecology may be one of the main factors contributing to the worldwide abundance and distribution of sponges despite large spatial and temporal variations in food sources.


KEY WORDS: Suspension feeding · Natural diet · Grazing rate · Prey selection · Sponges · Dysidea avara · Mediterranean Sea

 

[Subsea]

@Timfish

Since you brought the coral holibiont to me, I am now all about the “sponge loop”.

HTML] The sponge holobiont in a changing ocean: from microbes to ecosystems​

L Pita, L Rix, BM Slaby, A Franke, U Hentschel
Microbiome, 2018•microbiomejournal.biomedcentral …


The recognition that all macroorganisms live in symbiotic association with microbial communities has opened up a new field in biology. Animals, plants, and algae are now considered holobionts, complex ecosystems consisting of the host, the microbiota, and the interactions among them. Accordingly, ecological concepts can be applied to understand the host-derived and microbial processes that govern the dynamics of the interactive networks within the holobiont. In marine systems, holobionts are further integrated into larger and more complex communities and ecosystems, a concept referred to as “nested ecosystems.” In this review, we discuss the concept of holobionts as dynamic ecosystems that interact at multiple scales and respond to environmental change. We focus on the symbiosis of sponges with their microbial communities—a symbiosis that has resulted in one of the most diverse and complex holobionts in the marine environment. In recent years, the field of sponge microbiology has remarkably advanced in terms of curated databases, standardized protocols, and information on the functions of the microbiota. Like a Russian doll, these microbial processes are translated into sponge holobiont functions that impact the surrounding ecosystem. For example, the sponge-associated microbial metabolisms, fueled by the high filtering capacity of the sponge host, substantially affect the biogeochemical cycling of key nutrients like carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorous. Since sponge holobionts are increasingly threatened by anthropogenic stressors that jeopardize the stability of the holobiont ecosystem, we discuss the link between environmental perturbations, dysbiosis, and sponge diseases. Experimental studies suggest that the microbial community composition is tightly linked to holobiont health, but whether dysbiosis is a cause or a consequence of holobiont collapse remains unresolved. Moreover, the potential role of the microbiome in mediating the capacity for holobionts to acclimate and adapt to environmental change is unknown. Future studies should aim to identify the mechanisms underlying holobiont dynamics at multiple scales, from the microbiome to the ecosystem, and develop management strategies to preserve the key functions provided by the sponge holobiont in our present and future oceans.

 

[Subsea]

“We also discussed how the longer a tank is setup, the more manageable diseases seem to be.

That´s my experiences too, It seem - when you read all disease threads here at R2R that newly started and aquarium younger than 1 year are overrepresented - especially if it is newcomers. However - this could be due to many things - including that more experienced aquarists know how to handle the situation and don't ask for advice.

@Lasse
Lets consider another reason old school reefers seldom post in disease forums.

The vast majority of post to disease forum are from hobbiest that started with dry sand and dry rock. The modern/progressive reefer seeks to control all microbes entering ecosystems.

PS: Old school reefers use diver collected live rock for diversity in the microbial food web.

 

[Kmst80]

That´s my experiences too, It seem - when you read all disease threads here at R2R that newly started and aquarium younger than 1 year are overrepresented - especially if it is newcomers. However - this could be due to many things - including that more experienced aquarists know how to handle the situation and don't ask for advice.

@Lasse
Lets consider another reason old school reefers seldom post in disease forums.

The vast majority of post to disease forum are from hobbiest that started with dry sand and dry rock. The modern/progressive reefer seeks to control all microbes entering ecosystems.

PS: Old school reefers use diver collected live rock for diversity in the microbial food web.

I absolutely agree with Paul's approach of an reef aquarium and it would not surprise me if there is more than one parasite/sponge/copepod etc. that preys on unwanted parasites like Ich.
And like you said it's mostly ppl with dry rock tanks that introduce 7 fish in 2 weeks that have dramas. My magnificent foxface just had Ich, he still ate like a pig and swam like usuall, if anything his color washed out a bit. He had it 3 or 4 weeks, now his color is full again and he still eats like a pig. My tank is full of the freshest uncured live rock and I introduced my fish slowly. Biodiversity is the best prevention of serious disease outbreaks.

 

[Subsea]

I absolutely agree with Paul's approach of an reef aquarium and it would not surprise me if there is more than one parasite/sponge/copepod etc. that preys on unwanted parasites like Ich.
And like you said it's mostly ppl with dry rock tanks that introduce 7 fish in 2 weeks that have dramas. My magnificent foxface just had Ich, he still ate like a pig and swam like usuall, if anything his color washed out a bit. He had it 3 or 4 weeks, now his color is full again and he still eats like a pig. My tank is full of the freshest uncured live rock and I introduced my fish slowly. Biodiversity is the best prevention of serious disease outbreaks.

I have known of Paul thru 20 years of banter with him on reef forums. @Paul B has reefed 6 months longer than I and I am 6 months older than Paul.

Paul was Air Calvary in Vietnam and I was ground support for 82 Airborne Rangers as an Air Force crew chief on Puff the Magic Dragon in Cambodia. After those days, we both sought peace and found
“ZEN in Reefing”.