Terpios Sponge

[ReefHunter006]

Does anyone have any experience eradicating sponges from a tank? This one is associated with the black sponge that causes RTN.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

No personal experience, but some relevant info from studies:

Terpios hoshinota is the sponge. Apparently it can be beaten back/smothered by some corals/coralline algaes.

I have no idea if this sponge is T. hoshinota or not (see the quote about sponge ID below), but in case it is, I've posted some info about it below as well.

I don't know (though it theoretically should be). If it is T. hoshinota overtaking your corals though, it can be killed by shading it* (they shaded it at like 30% natural sunlight for 10 days and found it died and didn't grow back). So, I'd imagine that either reducing your lights or doing a multiday blackout period should be able to kill it.

*The study:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318973690_Short-term_in_situ_shading_effectively_mitigates_linear_progression_of_coral-killing_sponge_Terpios_hoshinota

https://www.researchgate.net/public...e_Terpios_hoshinota_sponge_kills_stony_corals
http://zoolstud.sinica.edu.tw/Journals/51.2/150.pdf
http://miseryukyu.com/[email protected]_List_files/Reimeretal2011Terpios.pdf

 

[smigleaiden]

IT IS AN VERY NOTORIOUS INVASIVE SPECIES OF SEA SPONGE!

 

[ReefHunter006]

IT IS AN VERY NOTORIOUS INVASIVE SPECIES OF SEA SPONGE!

Sweet. Sounds like there isn’t much I can do to get something to eat it

 

[bushdoc]

If anybody has any expierience in eradicating Terpios sponge(es) it would be Sisyphus.
Question about eradicating sponges, including Terpios pops around here now and then, I asked it several months ago as I thought that I might have one(Terpios). So far I have not seen any convincing answers to this question other than if it is invasive species, brake tank down or at minimum remove rock and corals affected by it.