Moving Sponges

Good evening 3reef!

I have a question I hope someone can answer for me. I will be moving soon and some of my LR has sponges (one orange puffball, several individs of a random yellow/green sp.). I have been told more than once that exposing sponges to any air will kill them. And of course a dying sponge can be very detrimental to the health of a system so I don't want that. Is it true that even brief exposure to air can kill them or is this just a wive's tale that originates because ocean-born sponges don't usually make it through the LR harvest and curing process? I took these specimens out of the tank briefly when moving them from my 5 to my 20 and they are still around so that says something. When I move, should I try to wrap the LR in a bag while still underwater in order to transfer to a bucket? Or should I just take them out and then redunk them as fast as possible?

 

Never heard of that. I had some sponges on my LR and ithey lasted the trip home in a bucket without any water or wet newspaper. Just rock.

 

Hah! This is why it is always good to ask questions. Now both of us have had experiences that refute the other anecdotes I have heard.

But check this out. A quote from Marine Invertebrates by Shimek, regarding Demosponges (the silica using kind we find in our tanks), "Air should never be allowed to touch the surface of the sponges. Sponges are perforated by millions of microscopic canals that are used in feeding and respiration. Any air bubble getting into contact with these canals will be drawn in by capillary action and will plug the canal. These cells will rot..."

Ultimately all I can say is that it is weird to have personal experience that refutes the book written by the doctor. I do think the things we keep in our reefs is way more hardy than it is ever given credit for being.

But I am still not sure how to move my sponges.

 

I have heard it, but have also moved them, while exposing them to air, without problems. If you dont want them exposed to air, you could always put the individual rocks in smaller containers that you can actually fit in the tank. By this I mean, put the container in the tank, fill it completely with water, put the rock (or whatever the sponge is on) in said container while its still in the tank, then remove container. Now its out of the tank, can be moved, and was never exposed to air!

 

I've moved rock with sponges on it without them being submerged constantly, never had a problem. In fact they've grown and are spreading. I agree that MOST of our animals are much tougher than we give them credit for, the ocean isn't necesarily a friendly place all the time.

 

I hear that most sponges can be moved outside the water. There is only a select few that should never leave the water. The select few is just 2 speices, this is what I have been told. I am sure that the reason that the rule never to remove a sponge from water is one of better play it safe then be sorry.

 

i also heard its not all sponges.what can happen is if a sponge sucks air into its pores the air can get stuck and then it can't suck in water to feed anymore.i have taken sponge from the water breifly before and it lived but i heard different ones act differently.i'd try to minimies air exposier

 

The sponges that utilize Calcium Carbonate as opposed to Silica are the ones that are the most able to handle air exposure. This would be the common Scypha sp, Leucilla sp (both called pineapple or urn sponges), the Cliona sp (yellow boring sponge), and the various species and colors of encrusting sponges.

However, if you were to expose tree sponges, vase sponges, fingers sponges, etc to air, it will eventually kill it.

Example, I had a huge blue Haliclona sponge in a display tank. The employees who closed the night before didn't top off for evaporation so microbubbles blew on this sponge for a whole night. This sponge was the size of a softball and by the time I cut away the dead/dieing tissue all I was left with was about a 1 1/2inch sized piece.

 

Yikes, that is not what you want to walk in to find in the morning. I guess the moral is keep sponges you paid for submerged just to be safe.

BTW, can you tell me what kind of sponge this is (Please pay no attention to man behind the curt...errr the Aiptasia. I am breeding them to feed my Berghia ):

 

That's a yellow encrusting sponge that actually has had some die-off. That white lattice-like structure is pure Calcite and the animals tissue has shrunk away from it.