do sponge eat

[giantbicycle]

Hi can i ask does sponge (blue sponge ) eat . and wat are there requriments .. thinking of getting 1

[Terryz_]

yea... they are filter feeders... just dose DT...

[giantbicycle]

other then feeding

[betaFISH]

i suppose u need proper lighting and good water perimeters..and also get the right live stock..

[Achilles Tang]

Most sponges are non-photosynthetic. So they can grow without much light/no light.

Some are. But the main bulk of their energy requirements come from filterfeeding on phytoplankton and to a lesser extend on bacteria flocs like 'marine snow'.

If you feed live phytoplankton, you should see them explode. I have so much sponges in my tank, some of them are growing on my SPS corals.

Most sponges bought will not survive long in new hobbyists' or unestablished tanks due to poor water flow, lack of ample food or nuisance microalgae overgrowth on their surfaces.

Packing of sponges and acclimatization when putting it into your tank is also key in their survivial. Most often than not, air bubbles trapped in their body interferes with respiratory and feeding functions.... and they will turn white and die.

AT

[Dazza]

yep no need light. need some current flow tho. Best put them in place with least disturbance from other inhabitants.

[FuEl]

keep them away from microbubbles...and best keep them in shaded areas before they get smothered by diatoms or algae.

[blacknails]

Except for W*terC*rcle, all the LFS I know simply expose the sponges to air before packing for you... Sigh... So I'm like pretty discouraged by this and have chosen to forget about buying sponges at all..

[lyz77]

Paiseh, nd 2 borrow yr thread 2 ask smthing abt sponge!

Instead of turning white 2 indicate tat the sponge is dying, wht if it turn dark brown? I have no ideal why my orange sponge turn into dark brown on one side & remain orange at the opposite side?

[giantbicycle]

Its okiee to hijack me thread. Go ahead

[blacknails]

Paiseh, nd 2 borrow yr thread 2 ask smthing abt sponge!

Instead of turning white 2 indicate tat the sponge is dying, wht if it turn dark brown? I have no ideal why my orange sponge turn into dark brown on one side & remain orange at the opposite side?

It's being covered by either nusiance algae or cynobac... Remove the dark brownish stuff before it smothers your sponge..

[ryz]

sounds like diatom growth.

[lyz77]

It's being covered by either nusiance algae or cynobac... Remove the dark brownish stuff before it smothers your sponge..

Can advise hw 2 remove it? Use a brush to scrub?

[FuEl]

Starve the stuff of their FuEl (me )...

Add in rowaphos.

[blacknails]

Scrape it off first..