Sponges

[msmith619]

I am going to start setting up a new seahorse tank next month and am planning the inhabitants. I think I will find black sand for the sand bed and want some color so the seahorses will color up. The seahorses will change colors with their environment, getting various vibrant colors to try and match their surroundings. I was thinking of getting a red tree sponge and a blue sponge for some more intense color and the seahorses can hitch on the red tree sponge. Does anyone have experience with either of these?
I know they are filter feeders and also should never be exposed to the air but other information is hard to find. Some web sites offer them and say they just need good water flow and good light to do well.
Mike

[Europhyllia]

Hi Mike,
way late on this post but I thought it was an interesting topic.
The blue sponges available are usually Haliclona, a photosynthetic sponge that requires good lighting (Ed is getting me one. )
The one that seems to do best in my system is a orange ridge sponge.
I have a beautiful spider sponge frag from Ace that so far also is looking great.
I had ordered an orange tree sponge but received a red tree instead and it really isn't looking too well despite good flow, phyto, and other filter feeder foods.
I've seen some aquacultured orange frillies which might be a good choice

[phippsj]

I have had great luck with our orange sponge. I never remove it from the water, but I do routinely remove it from the live rock to clean it off and shake it out a bit. Keeping detreus out of it ensure no algae or infections. It has gotten even more vibrant than it was when I bought it. I love them and want to get more.

[tebstan]

I've been researching sponges as well, there's little info available on them. If anyone knows of a good book that costs less than $300, let me know.
EuroMom, what other filter foods are using besides phyto? Aren't the spiders more delicate than the red tree?

[jroescher]

I'm guessing you don't want any of my black sponge then!

[Europhyllia]

I am just doing what I do for the gorgonians:
rotifers, oyster eggs, cyclops (too
big for sponges of
course) and now:
Fauna Marin special food for Seafans anf filter feeders.
I like reading about Jens Kallmeyer's tank and his approach. He has been very successful with non photosynthetic stuff (carnations, sea fans, etc.) and while he doesn't endorse any specific brands, it's the FM stuff he uses.
I haven't seen a book on sponges but the "Sea Squirt" issue of Coral Magazine has a lot about Filter Feeders, including a special feature on Kallmeyer's tank.
Yes I was worried about the care for the spider sponge but I got it as a frag from Ace. From what I've been reading the white zoas can live for quite some time even after the host sponge dies so the sponge (again) is the more delicate member of this partnership. I did feel encouraged when Ace posted it's an orange sponge rather than a red. When I'm feeding the corals the white polyps on the spider sponge actually catch and eat very readily.
We'll see. I am hoping with my special foods it will work.

[tebstan]

EuroMom: Are the rotifers suitable size for the sponges? Do you know the micron size of the oyster eggs?

jroescher: it may not be colorful enough for a seahorse tank, but I love your sponge! When it was posted on the POTM thread a while back is what made me want to read more about them.

[Europhyllia]

I have had great luck with our orange sponge. It has gotten even more vibrant than it was when I bought it. I love them and want to get more.

Same here. It arrived kind of splotchy but colored up quickly. I am an orange sponge fan because of how well that one did but I am excited about my photosynthetic blue sponge.

No idea about the rotifers. Since they are so tiny I don't rinse them like I do the other frozen foods so if the rots themselves are too big the liquid stuff should be small enough.
Here's info: http://www.dtplankton.com/oystereggs.html

[Europhyllia]

Tebstan after some more reading I believe the thing the sponges get out of me feeding the tank is really the dissolved organics rather than the food items themselves.
"They absorb dissolved organic material from the water, but also need to have a source of bacterial or nanoplankton"
source: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-07/rs/index.php
The excemption to this may be the filter feeder nutrient solution from Fauna Marin.
Thanks for asking such an excellent question about particle size.

I think the DT's I buy at your store has nanno in it which fits into that particle size
"Premium reef blend contains Nannochloropsis oculata, Phaeodactylum tricornutum and Chlorella with a cell size of 2 – 20 microns."