Are sponges worth getting?

[invincible569]

I have seen some really nice Sponges locally and am wanting to try some out but I have never experienced in caring for a sponge. The ones I have seen are really nice blue with swirls and so on. Has anyone had any experience with sponges? I know they are non photosynthetic, but wasnt sure if I would be wasting my $$ if they die in a couple of months.

[invincible569]

One of the ones I saw looked like this one but with a powder blue color.

[fkadir]

I think they thrive on plankton etc etc.. would be very hard for them to survive in nutrient-free environments I think.. The blue sponges have been known to slowly die and turn white/translucent in color. Not worth the trouble IMHO

I has an orange sponge pretty much like the pic and it survies about 3-4 months. It was slowly disintegrating tho.

[frink]

Sponges

Most of the sponges for sale slowly go away over a period of months from lack of proper food. The only purchased sponge I have had long term sucess with is the blue sponge imported from Indonesia. It is partially photosynthetic and is able not only survive but grow in reeftanks.

[invincible569]

Thanks Frink. It is said that if you stir the sand, you can feed your sponge.. but with that being said, I dotn need to as I can just feed them with the pumping of the stones on ZEOvit. I guess it wouldnt hurt to try and see what I can get out of them. They also said not to expose them to air.

[Aged Salt]

I had a beautiful blue multi-conical sponge for months in between Imperator Forgot about that--the sponge lasted about 12hrs Bob

[invincible569]

Well the blue one i wanted was sold within 24 hrs... so I got another one instead just to see how it will do. I didnt realize how cheap they were. It was about $18. I placed it under a rock with MINIMAL light/No light.

[North Bay 101]

I have one and have had it for almost a year. At first I kept the sponge/rock on the bottom and saw some resession. I raised it up about 6" and it has been doing well. I was looking at a picture that I took last year and it has almost doubled. Not bad on growth but it adds quite a bit of color to the tank.

Gordon

[invincible569]

Gordon, how much light is your sponge taking?

[naka]

Edward, do you have a picture of your sponge?

[North Bay 101]

My sponge is located abot 12" below the water and about 6" off center from a PFO mini pendant and an Aquaconnect 250 DE bulb. Here are the pictures. I hope that they show, the last ones I posted took almost a day to show up.

April 2004:


February 2005:


Gordon

[naka]

Stop messing around w/ your tank and take some pics. Put down the Zeospur 2 for one minute. I want to see what your sponge looks like.

Hurry up

[naka]

OMG Gordon, that sponge is a killer. Do you need lots of light for it to keep it's blue color? How about growth?

[North Bay 101]

April 2004 info - Nikon CoolPix 775 and Hamilton 14K DE bulb VHO actinincs. Color balance- iffy at best.

February 2005 - Nikon D70 with Nikon 60mm Micro lense. Aquaconnect 250 watt DE bulb, without actinics. Color balance - Automatic.

[invincible569]

WOW!! That is nice! Great job gordon! That sponge is identical to the one i saw yesterday but someone bought it but it was light like the first old pic you showed. Wish I would of bought it yesterday. Oh well.. I have a different looking sponge.. it has purple swirls with a translucent body. I would of taken pics today but I dont have my camera. Its at work! I will get them soon. I always thought that they would do better in shaded areas.. but now that you posted yours doing good under a 14K, Im rethinking of the location of mine. Do you spot feed yours Gordon?