What are the best sponges to see on a reef?
We absolutely love seeing sponges on a reef, either as a huge barrel sponge, small colorful ball sponges, a weird and wacky ‘ridge sponge’ of high flow habitats. The pink, red and light blue branching species are objectively attractive on their own but they are not good neighbors with other reef animals, especially corals.
What is the scientific name for a golf ball sponge?
Back to Common Spongespage Golf Ball Sponge Scientific Name: Cinachyrella australiensis Class: Demospongiae Family: Tetillidae Category: Common Sponges Size: Up to 3 in. (7.5 cm) Depth: 0-15 ft. (0-5 m)
Can you put an sponges in a reef tank?
Sponges are some of the most amazing, interesting and almost alien creatures found in many marine habitats but one place they don’t belong, is in a reef tank. This statement is not a popular viewpoint in the reef aquarium hobby as aquarists still tend to treat their reef tanks like a kitchen sink for reef life, and just anything goes inside.
What is an sponge?
Sponges are just one of the most visible swaths of reef life that grows on the wild-harvested live rock that has slowly been supplanted by man made and artificial options.
Do sponges grow over coral?
In our personal experience and aquariums, sponges are usually growing over coral, choking out the lower areas of densely branching colonies, smothering polyps and rocks, and generally getting stuck in equipment where they don’t belong.
Do sponges help reefs?
Interestingly, sponges can play an essential role of helping to keep reef waters cleaner on a localized scale, maybe even in an aquarium setting, but there’s yet to be a convincing demonstration that sponges have performed any ecological role better than our modern reef aquarium gear.
Can you keep sponges out of a reef tank?
Oct 7, 2019. Sponges are some of the most amazing, interesting and almost alien creatures found in many marine habitats but one place they don’t belong , is in a reef tank. This statement is not a popular viewpoint in the reef aquarium hobby as aquarists still tend to treat their reef tanks like ...
