Purple looking sponge (looks like cyano) is taking over my tank

[rmorris_14]

@rmorris_14 ,sponge pics here, TIA...

Mine is plating

 

[taricha]

This is interesting.
The common blue or purple photosynthetic sponge in our aquaria hosts a cyanobacteria symbiont.
Light Availability Affects the Symbiosis of Sponge Specific Cyanobacteria and the Common Blue Aquarium Sponge (Lendenfeldia chondrodes)

I wonder if this sponge is hosting a type of cyano that can actually overgrow the sponge body.
@laurensvanpoucke Does it look like an overgrowth of cyano can be blown away and leave a purple sponge underneath, or is the spongy tissue itself just rapidly growing?


(the werid thing here is that normally hte common sponge symbiont is a type of cyano that is just a single cell planktonic type Synechococcus. Not the kind I expect to form mats. But cyano always has tricks up it's sleeve.)

 

[vetteguy53081]

@Acros @TheSheff @fishguy242 here some other pictures when I plucked it off manually...

Looks like a macroalgae that has a rubbery texture to it and cant remember the true name but many call it elephant ear.

 

[laurensvanpoucke]

This is interesting.
The common blue or purple photosynthetic sponge in our aquaria hosts a cyanobacteria symbiont.
Light Availability Affects the Symbiosis of Sponge Specific Cyanobacteria and the Common Blue Aquarium Sponge (Lendenfeldia chondrodes)

I wonder if this sponge is hosting a type of cyano that can actually overgrow the sponge body.
@laurensvanpoucke Does it look like an overgrowth of cyano can be blown away and leave a purple sponge underneath, or is the spongy tissue itself just rapidly growing?


(the werid thing here is that normally hte common sponge symbiont is a type of cyano that is just a single cell planktonic type Synechococcus. Not the kind I expect to form mats. But cyano always has tricks up it's sleeve.)

not fully understanding what you mean. But it's not possible to blow the purple later away easily. It definitely looks like cyano, but the sponge part - below the purple texture - is a white sponge

 

[laurensvanpoucke]

any other ideas for natural predators?

 

[386reeftrader]

If that’s what I’m thinking it is, I don’t think it’s a sponge. I’ve tried to ID at this stuff in the past with no luck, but it’s some sort of algae that seems to thrive in low nutrient systems and cyano almost always grows over it. Likely because it traps so much detritus and becomes a magnet for other bacteria to grow. Adding something like NeoNitro/NeoPhos can help and worry about bringing them back down through WC once the algae is gone. Nothing eats that stuff and it’s tough to completely remove manually.

 

[laurensvanpoucke]

If that’s what I’m thinking it is, I don’t think it’s a sponge. I’ve tried to ID at this stuff in the past with no luck, but it’s some sort of algae that seems to thrive in low nutrient systems and cyano almost always grows over it. Likely because it traps so much detritus and becomes a magnet for other bacteria to grow. Adding something like NeoNitro/NeoPhos can help and worry about bringing them back down through WC once the algae is gone. Nothing eats that stuff and it’s tough to completely remove manually.

hmm my nutrients are actually pretty high ... nitrates around 50 phosphates around 0.15 or so

 

[mtfish]

I'm 99% sure the "body" of this thing is a sponge. I'll try to add better pictures today. I'm not sure if this sponge has a top part of cyano. Nowhere else in my tank is cyano

I have a yellow sponge in my tank that has a layer of cyanobacteria growing on the surface. If a piece gets broken off, it is bright yellow. Otherwise, it is cyano-red color.

 

[386reeftrader]

hmm my nutrients are actually pretty high ... nitrates around 50 phosphates around 0.15 or so

Looks like this right?

 

[laurensvanpoucke]

Looks like this right?

Yep, that's it indeed! were you able to remove/handle it somehow?

 

[pvis]

Yep, that's it indeed! were you able to remove/handle it somehow?

Any updates? I’m having the same stuff in my tank and this is the first time I see it with someone else. For me it is manageable and it has been in my tank for years, periodically I brush it of the rocks but it always returns. Tried low nutrients, high nutrients, low flow, high flow and all sorts of Cyano solutions and magic potions. Would be nice to get rid of it once and for all..

 

[El Toro]

Hello,
the following sponge is taking over my tank. It's literally growing over ALL my rocks and covering the base of some corals.

I know it looks like cyano bacteria, but the thing underneath when trying to remove it manually is definitely a sponge like thing.
I tried removing it with a tweezer and during a water change, but it comes back VERY QUICK.

Anyone encountered this sponge already and how to remove it?
Are there any reefsafe predators that eats this kind of thing?

I have the same sponge on a Paly/Zoa colony rock I bought. Slow growing and has some Orange fluorescence from time to time.

My Pencil Urchin scours it off the rock and it grows back in a few weeks.

 

[Beefyreefy]

@Acros @TheSheff @fishguy242 here some other pictures when I plucked it off manually...

Well this is a new one for me, I’m stumped. The saving grace is it looks kind of cool! I don’t believe we have any miracle cures for sponge if that’s what it really is. I’d try something that gets rid of algae, like fluconazole, just because we’re not even sure it’s a sponge.