Sponge eating fish/critter

[Tom nhia]

Hey does anyone know of a fish/criiter that eats sponges but is either a slower grower or stays small (3 inches). I got some white sponges going rampant in the sump. I know they are "good" fauna but theres just too much, they are growing out of my marinepure block and every other surface

 

[bushdoc]

This question pops up every few weeks on this forum, suggest doing some search.
Some angelfish eat sponges, hawksbill turtle too, however the best biological method of controlling sponges overgrowth is to starve them by reducing suspended matter in water column and increasing general biodiversity of your tank.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

To quote another of my posts:

Manual removal is almost certainly your best option here (for why, see the first quote below, for manual removal control ideas, see the other two):

Just to put this out there - the problem with using biological controls (i.e. something that eats it) with sponges is that there are a ton of different sponges, some of which look indistinguishable from others. Some of these sponges are inedible or extremely undesirable foods to some species (either because of chemical defenses* or just because of taste preferences) while being highly desirable to other species. So, even if you pull in a known sponge-eating species of fish/starfish/whatever, there's no guarantee it will eat the sponge you want it to eat. Also, many of these sponge-eating species eat other things (like coral) that you might not want them eating.

Long story short, manual removal is probably your best option for sponges until more study has been on both specific sponges and specific sponge-eaters, but you can try it if you want.

*Just as a note on the chemical defenses of sponges, many sponges produce chemicals to avoid being eaten. Some of these chemicals are more generalized, some of them are specifically anti-fish, some are specifically anti-echinoderm (starfish, urchin, etc.), etc. So, again, some things might eat one sponge but not another, and because of the whole indistinguishable thing mentioned above, the sponges that are and are not being eaten may look pretty much identical (some may be distinguished/ID'ed under microscopic investigation, others may need to be DNA tested to be distinguished/ID'ed).

Just my two cents here.

The best way I've heard to control sponge growth at this point is to use a steel straw to scrape and siphon out the sponge you want to remove. Sometimes you can create bad conditions for them and kill them off that way, but that's typically much harder and not always effective.

Some other sponge removal methods:

Other suggestions include exposing the sponge to air (obviously not a guaranteed solution, and definitely not viable for this situation); hydrogen peroxide dipping the sponge (again, not viable here); injecting the sponge with hydrogen peroxide, vinegar, boiling water, or air; microbubbles in the display; and a few more. Predation is not usually a good solution for this issue

 

[Tom nhia]

This question pops up every few weeks on this forum, suggest doing some search.
Some angelfish eat sponges, hawksbill turtle too, however the best biological method of controlling sponges overgrowth is to starve them by reducing suspended matter in water column and increasing general biodiversity of your tank.

I am aware that starving them out would be the easiest for mass removal but i rather not risk underfeeding my acros with my elevated alk. Im close to riding the edge, hence why i was asking if anyone knew of a specific specie

To quote another of my posts:

Manual removal is almost certainly your best option here (for why, see the first quote below, for manual removal control ideas, see the other two):

I see thank you. I would still be willing to try a fish as long as it isn't an obligate sponge eater as I rather not be crawling under my desk to try and wean the fish on prepared food. I'll just have to do quarterly sump maintenance if there isnt anything that fits the bill

 

[i cant think]

I see thank you. I would still be willing to try a fish as long as it isn't an obligate sponge eater as I rather not be crawling under my desk to try and wean the fish on prepared food. I'll just have to do quarterly sump maintenance if there isnt anything that fits the bill

I don’t believe there is any small sponge eater, Blennies may do this but even then it’s 50/50.

 

[Tom nhia]

I don’t believe there is any small sponge eater, Blennies may do this but even then it’s 50/50.

I see, just any of the grazing blennies or do you know which species have been seen to occasionally eat sponges? If its a blenny I can keep long term and put it in either the display or future frag tank if it doesn't eat sponges in the sump

 

[blecki]

This question pops up every few weeks on this forum, suggest doing some search.
Some angelfish eat sponges, hawksbill turtle too, however the best biological method of controlling sponges overgrowth is to starve them by reducing suspended matter in water column and increasing general biodiversity of your tank.

Or the opposite: Encourage the sponges to grow wild so that they reduce the amount of suspended matter in the water column!

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I see thank you. I would still be willing to try a fish as long as it isn't an obligate sponge eater as I rather not be crawling under my desk to try and wean the fish on prepared food. I'll just have to do quarterly sump maintenance if there isnt anything that fits the bill

If you really want to, you could try Aquilonastra stars (known in the hobby as Asterinas), as there is some evidence to suggest that they may eat sponges. As mentioned, there's no guarantee of anything you add eating the sponges, but these would probably be one of the safest and most likely to succeed options.

 

[Tom nhia]

If you really want to, you could try Aquilonastra stars (known in the hobby as Asterinas), as there is some evidence to suggest that they may eat sponges. As mentioned, there's no guarantee of anything you add eating the sponges, but these would probably be one of the safest and most likely to succeed options.

If asterina eat them then that might be the reason why they arent rampant in the display, i have a couple asterina in the display. I'll grab one for the sump if i see them

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

If asterina eat them then that might be the reason why they arent rampant in the display, i have a couple asterina in the display. I'll grab one for the sump if i see them

Let us know how it goes.

 

[Tom nhia]

Will do thank you

 

[i cant think]

If asterina eat them then that might be the reason why they arent rampant in the display, i have a couple asterina in the display. I'll grab one for the sump if i see them

If they’re in the display, they’ll be in the sump as well…

I see, just any of the grazing blennies or do you know which species have been seen to occasionally eat sponges? If its a blenny I can keep long term and put it in either the display or future frag tank if it doesn't eat sponges in the sump

Most of the Escenius species have predated on sponges for me personally. But nothing will be 100%.

 

[Tom nhia]

If they’re in the display, they’ll be in the sump as well…

Most of the Escenius species have predated on sponges for me personally. But nothing will be 100%.

I dont think they quite made it in the sump yet, apart from the sponge a tiny feather duster the sump is baren and the asterina are also a recent addition that i didnt bother picking off from a frag.
I'll definitely look into some kind of escenius blenny as well thank you!

 

[i cant think]

I dont think they quite made it in the sump yet, apart from the sponge a tiny feather duster the sump is baren and the asterina are also a recent addition that i didnt bother picking off from a frag.
I'll definitely look into some kind of escenius blenny as well thank you!

If you were closer then I’d love to share some of my Aquilonastra stars. they’ve overrun the tank to the point if I wanted I could probably start a breeding project for Harlequin Shrimp…

 

[Tom nhia]

If you were closer then I’d love to share some of my Aquilonastra stars. they’ve overrun the tank to the point if I wanted I could probably start a breeding project for Harlequin Shrimp…

Dang haha. Unrelated to this thread, apparently if you just put a harlequin shrimp in your system like in your sump or acclimation box, all the asterina are going to try and escape from the tank to escape the harlequin shrimp. Inappropriate reefer did something like that on one of his video, might be worth a shot for you

 

[i cant think]

Dang haha. Unrelated to this thread, apparently if you just put a harlequin shrimp in your system like in your sump or acclimation box, all the asterina are going to try and escape from the tank to escape the harlequin shrimp. Inappropriate reefer did something like that on one of his video, might be worth a shot for you

I’d have a Harlequin shrimp in a heartbeat but I’m not spending that much for a shrimp that’s more than likely to become a meal…

 

[Tom nhia]

Update, got a twin spot blenny on Monday. Noticed a lot less sponges today when i checked on the little blenny. Will have to add pellets or move it to the display soon