ID please

[gdubs97]

Not a great picture, but I'm growing some white stringy stuff in the back of my tank on a rock. I'm guessing it's a sponge of some sort. Is it ok for the tank?

[JoeRonda]

It's not a sponge. Maybe a hitchhiker long tentacled anemone that is just now coming out. I've had hitchhikers hide for many months before showing themselves.

[gdubs97]

I really do think it's a sponge. They are coming from various areas on my rocks where what looks to be a sponge is the origin. I've had my tank (and this rock in there) for over a year and a half. The other strings are in between zoas, behind rocks, etc. It's hard to get a decent pic of them....they are growing though.

Originally Posted by JoeRonda

It's not a sponge. Maybe a hitchhiker long tentacled anemone that is just now coming out. I've had hitchhikers hide for many months before showing themselves.

[dzhuo]

If you can get a better picture, we can do a better job ID-ing it. From the shape and description of it, I would say these are sponges.

[gdubs97]

These photos are a little better. If it is a sponge like I think....harmful? Should I just pull them off? Comments appreciated.

[dzhuo]

These are harmless Poriferan sponges.

[gdubs97]

Originally Posted by dzhuo

These are harmless Poriferan sponges.

Thanks! 2 more questions. 1 - If I pulled them off because they grow too much would they give off anything toxic? 2 - Would this be something that nudibranchs would like to munch on? I bought one recently and the shop said they like flatworms or "colorful" sponges....I know they're not "colorful"...too bad the flow was too strong for the nudi..he ended up in my filtersock...Those things are gorgeous.

[sponger0]

Originally Posted by dzhuo

These are harmless Poriferan sponges.

Damn dude....I think you ID everything. Whats your secret? Are you the master IDer?

[dzhuo]

Originally Posted by gdubs97

1 - If I pulled them off because they grow too much would they give off anything toxic?

Lots of sponges are very toxic. If you think about sponge, they can't move, can't swim, they don't have mouth, teeth, claws, legs, stingy tentacles, lots of them don't have hard external skeleton to protect them and are soft. How the hell are they able to compete for space in the coral reef where space is so limited? Why haven't all fish evolve to just eat them? Aren't sponge free lunch? It turns out many sponges are very toxic and they compete by releasing these toxic chemicals (allelopathy) in order to clear out space and grow. When sponges are alive, this is normally not the problem but when they die, it can be (the toxic from dead nudibranchs people generally refer to is actually obtained from feeding sponges primarily). On top of that, sponges are very simple animals and form large colonial groups. This means when one part of the colony dies, it triggers the entire colony (and often the near by colonies) into die-ing mode (they have programmed senescense).

Having said that, I have no idea if this particular type is toxic or not. Generally speaking, I would just leave them alone.

Originally Posted by gdubs97

2 - Would this be something that nudibranchs would like to munch on?

Lots of nudibranchs prey on sponges exclusively and the toxic these nudibranchs carry is actually obtained directly from the sponges. However, I would advice against using nudibranch to remove sponges as you surely wouldn't be able to provide enough food for the nudibranch. When the nudibranch is gone, the sponge will grow back.

[dzhuo]

Originally Posted by sponger0

Damn dude....I think you ID everything.

Just trying to be helpful.

[gdubs97]

I actually love nudibranchs....not looking for them to get rid of the sponges...moreso to be able to live off of the sponges so they can survive

Originally Posted by dzhuo

Lots of sponges are very toxic. If you think about sponge, they can't move, can't swim, they don't have mouth, teeth, claws, legs, stingy tentacles, lots of them don't have hard external skeleton to protect them and are soft. How the hell are they able to compete for space in the coral reef where space is so limited? Why haven't all fish evolve to just eat them? Aren't sponge free lunch? It turns out many sponges are very toxic and they compete by releasing these toxic chemicals (allelopathy) in order to clear out space and grow. When sponges are alive, this is normally not the problem but when they die, it can be (the toxic from dead nudibranchs people generally refer to is actually obtained from feeding sponges primarily). On top of that, sponges are very simple animals and form large colonial groups. This means when one part of the colony dies, it triggers the entire colony (and often the near by colonies) into die-ing mode (they have programmed senescense).

Having said that, I have no idea if this particular type is toxic or not. Generally speaking, I would just leave them alone.



Lots of nudibranchs prey on sponges exclusively and the toxic these nudibranchs carry is actually obtained directly from the sponges. However, I would advice against using nudibranch to remove sponges as you surely wouldn't be able to provide enough food for the nudibranch. When the nudibranch is gone, the sponge will grow back.