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05/25/2020, 09:27 AM
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#1 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Feb 2020
Posts: 12
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***?!
Starting to see these things (image attached) pop up in sump and DT. I can’t find anything after searching pest articles. Can anyone identify these critters?!
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05/25/2020, 10:53 AM
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#2 |
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Registered Seaweedist
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Boulder, CO
Posts: 5,807
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Sponge. Nature's living filters.
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As many naturalists and environmentalists have suggested, we should set aside our arrogance, our desire to conquer and control everything, and walk hand in hand with Mother Nature. -Walter Adey Current Tank Info: 180g Seagrass Sandbar Lagoon, START DATE November 28, 2018 |
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05/25/2020, 12:04 PM
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#3 | |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Feb 2020
Posts: 12
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Quote:
Any reason for concern for corals, fish or inverts? Do they tend to take over or come and go? |
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05/25/2020, 12:20 PM
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#4 |
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Registered Seaweedist
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Boulder, CO
Posts: 5,807
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They could possibly overrun a coral. They're not particularly pretty, so you may want to confine them to your sump. They're easy to brush them loose and net or syphon. In a reef tank there's not a ton of food for them, so maybe they'll come and go. Pretty easy to control so I wouldn't worry too much, plus they are beneficial. Up to you how much to keep/remove.
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As many naturalists and environmentalists have suggested, we should set aside our arrogance, our desire to conquer and control everything, and walk hand in hand with Mother Nature. -Walter Adey Current Tank Info: 180g Seagrass Sandbar Lagoon, START DATE November 28, 2018 |
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05/25/2020, 01:35 PM
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#5 |
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Registered Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Grove City, Ohio
Posts: 10,806
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commonly known as pineapple sponges, but I think they are actually tunicates. Their population will wax and wane according to the food supply. I have always looked at them as some of the good guys.
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I'll try to be nice if you try to be smarter! I can't help that I grow older, but you can't make me grow up! Current Tank Info: 120 mixed reef with 40b sump, RO 150 skimmer, AI Sol Blue x 2, and a 60g Frag Tank with 100g rubbermaid sump. 2 x Kessil A360w lights, BM curve 5 skimmer |
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05/25/2020, 02:44 PM
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#6 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Canada
Posts: 214
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It's my belief (along with many other people) that sponges are perfectly fine to have in your tank. They are responsible for a lot of the nutrient absorption in your tank (nitrates and phosphates), helping to keep the amount of algae in your tank under control. Then there's the others. A very small number of fairly well regarded reefers go completely off the rails when it comes to having even a single sponge in their tank. Honestly though, having sponges in your tank shouldn't cause any problems. In fact, some critters, such as angelfish, benefit from having sponges in their diet.
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Dotty the firefish, Delilah and Little Henry Ocellaris clownfish, Pixel (convict tang) and Darwin (blue tang), pyjama cardinalfish, Riku and Kenji the orchid and elongate dottybacks, and Jeremy (yello Current Tank Info: 160g reef tank with mushrooms, leathers, zoas, SPS corals, NPS corals, firefish, a school of pyjama cardinalfish, a pair of designer Ocellaris, two tangs, a striped blenny, two dottybacks, and a watchman goby |
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05/25/2020, 02:52 PM
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#7 |
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Super Best Friends!
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: OKC, OK
Posts: 3,772
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I don't ever remove sponges in my tank. I haven't had one become problematic in 13 years
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"The moral is the chosen, not the forced; the understood, not the obeyed. The moral is the rational, and reason accepts no commandments." - John Galt Current Tank Info: Cadlights 60G Arisan II mixed reef with 2x MP40s and 24" ATI |
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05/25/2020, 04:50 PM
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#8 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Feb 2020
Posts: 12
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Appreciate all the feedback guys...very helpful
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