Pineapple Sponge explosion?

[LeonardTheWrasse]

Hey, I had a couple pineapple sponges in my tank from the very beginning of my tank, they came from my live rock, and they were fine, I know what they are, they aren't doing any harm. Suddenly those 2 pineapple sponges have exploded into hundreds all over my glass, back wall, rocks, and my toadstool.

The 'mother colony' (which also appeared overnight) appears to be attached between my toadstools. My toadstools are shedding at the moment, so I don't know how affected they are by it, but these guys are everywhere.

I'm not overly concerned by them, but is there any connection between them and high phosphates? I'm currently battling very high phosphate 0.90ppm.
I read that starting GFO can help remove pinapple sponges, as they feed off silicate? I'm purchasing a reactor for the GFO soon, but they're pretty expensive and I don't have much cash to drop right now.

Is there any livestock that will reliably eat them? I saw that Coral Beauty angels might eat them, but I really have no idea, and my tank is just covered by them, and it's just a bit too much of a good thing.
They were endearing, but this is getting ridiculous.

Thanks.

 

[Kmst80]

Hey, I had a couple pineapple sponges in my tank from the very beginning of my tank, they came from my live rock, and they were fine, I know what they are, they aren't doing any harm. Suddenly those 2 pineapple sponges have exploded into hundreds all over my glass, back wall, rocks, and my toadstool.

The 'mother colony' (which also appeared overnight) appears to be attached between my toadstools. My toadstools are shedding at the moment, so I don't know how affected they are by it, but these guys are everywhere.

I'm not overly concerned by them, but is there any connection between them and high phosphates? I'm currently battling very high phosphate 0.90ppm.
I read that starting GFO can help remove pinapple sponges, as they feed off silicate? I'm purchasing a reactor for the GFO soon, but they're pretty expensive and I don't have much cash to drop right now.

Is there any livestock that will reliably eat them? I saw that Coral Beauty angels might eat them, but I really have no idea, and my tank is just covered by them, and it's just a bit too much of a good thing.
They were endearing, but this is getting ridiculous.

Thanks.

I got plenty of them too, mainly in the sump though. My Phosphates are around 0.2 so i don't think phosphates matter much but as you said it might be silicates. I use NSW most times for waterchanges and i think it is a bit higher in silicates hence the sponges. I got a flame angel and a coral beauty, have not seen them touch a pineapple sponge but couldn't say for sure.
I know that one killed my blue mini maxi, got in the way and the mini maxi tried to eat it.

 

[Kmst80]

 

[blaxsun]

The ones in my tank never seem to spread beyond the underside of my rocks and occasionally in the sump. I have ample fish but I don't think any of them specifically go after any of the pineapple sponges (possibly the dwarf angels).

 

[Waters]

They come and go with nutrient levels.....like stated, they normally only grow in the dark though (sump, underside of rocks, etc.)

 

[Dan_P]

Hey, I had a couple pineapple sponges in my tank from the very beginning of my tank, they came from my live rock, and they were fine, I know what they are, they aren't doing any harm. Suddenly those 2 pineapple sponges have exploded into hundreds all over my glass, back wall, rocks, and my toadstool.

The 'mother colony' (which also appeared overnight) appears to be attached between my toadstools. My toadstools are shedding at the moment, so I don't know how affected they are by it, but these guys are everywhere.

I'm not overly concerned by them, but is there any connection between them and high phosphates? I'm currently battling very high phosphate 0.90ppm.
I read that starting GFO can help remove pinapple sponges, as they feed off silicate? I'm purchasing a reactor for the GFO soon, but they're pretty expensive and I don't have much cash to drop right now.

Is there any livestock that will reliably eat them? I saw that Coral Beauty angels might eat them, but I really have no idea, and my tank is just covered by them, and it's just a bit too much of a good thing.
They were endearing, but this is getting ridiculous.

Thanks.

I assume pineapple sponges are filter feeders and the rapid growth of the population would indicate plentiful food in the water. If you have other filter feeders in the aquarium, they must be benefitting as well with this situation.

I maintain a mass of pineapple sponges presumably because I dose trace elements to keep my Ulva in good condition. The reason behind thinking trace elements was the cause because for years I did not dose and my system was sponge and tiny fan worm free. Shortly after starting to dose trace elements I had an explosion of life. Also, my sump started to accumulate fluffy material, again something that did not occurs for years prior to dosing.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

is there any connection between them and high phosphates?

There would be a connection between them and Dissolved Organic Matter (DOM - basically super tiny living things/pieces from living things; including Dissolved Organic Carbon, Dissolved Organic Nitrogen, and Dissolved Organic Phosphorus), but not necessarily PO4, which would be what our tests measure. (Sponges primarily feed off of DOM and Particulate Organic Matter, which is larger but still tiny.)

I read that starting GFO can help remove pinapple sponges, as they feed off silicate?

I’ve heard this before, but I can’t think of why this would be for these specific sponges:

I’ve heard that pineapple sponges rely on silicates in the water, but I struggle to see why this would be the case since these are calcareous (i.e. calcium carbonate based) sponges, not silica based sponges (genus Sycon, taxonomic class Calcarea). I just don’t understand what they would need the silica for since they don’t use it to build their body structure (spicules).

Pineapple Sponges (genus Sycon) are in the taxonomic class of Calcarea. Sponges in this class are characterized by having spicules made of calcium carbonate, and Sycon is in the order Leucosolenoida (whose skeletons are composed entirely of their spicules), so I can’t imagine them needing the silica for their structure. However, from all of the anecdotal reports I’ve read, these sponges are silica limited, so I’m curious if they really are, and what they would need the silica for.

Basically, if the sponges have enough food and enough trace elements (which for most sponges includes silicates) to meet their needs, then you’ll see their populations booming.

If you can figure out what’s allowing them to thrive in your tank, then you can deal with that root cause and get rid of them.

 

[kevgib67]

Phosphate of .9 isn’t high and is in the acceptable range. I wouldn’t mess with it.

 

[Brandon Wilcox]

Your phosphate is .9 not .09 right? If it’s the first then yes your phosphate is very high.

 

[kevgib67]

Your phosphate is .9 not .09 right? If it’s the first then yes your phosphate is very high.

I didn’t catch that thanks for bringing it to our attention, I was thinking .09.

 

[LeonardTheWrasse]

Your phosphate is .9 not .09 right? If it’s the first then yes your phosphate is very high.

I didn’t catch that thanks for bringing it to our attention, I was thinking .09.

Thanks for the concern, this issue was about 2 months ago, and since then I have started GFO, and the phosphate has dropped to 0.03.
I appreciate the assistance I got on this thread, once the phosphate began dropping, the pineapple sponges shrunk and have stopped reproducing. I found the root cause, and this problem is solved thankfully.

 

[kevgib67]

Glad to hear! I wouldn’t let the phosphate drop any lower. Happy reefing.

 

[Brandon Wilcox]

I noticed it because my phosphates have been .4 and they want to stay there. I have a ton of pineapple sponges but corals look great. Working on slowly bring my phosphates down. My nitrates are staying right around 5 ppm. It’s annoying! Didn’t mean to call you out.

 

[kevgib67]

I noticed it because my phosphates have been .4 and they want to stay there. I have a ton of pineapple sponges but corals look great. Working on slowly bring my phosphates down. My nitrates are staying right around 5 ppm. It’s annoying! Didn’t mean to call you out.

No, I didn’t feel like you were calling me out but pointing out I was mistaking .9 for .09. We want the OP to get the best information. I’ve seen some crazy beautiful reefs on here that run crazy high nitrates and phosphates.

 

[Seansea]

If the problem ever arises get one of these guys.

Maul any kind of sponge. Unfortunatly