Sponge id

[madmatt]

Hi guys

Have this LR in my sump.
Alot of white sponge growing on the rocks, but came across this rock that has large piece of what looks like a blue sponge.
Is there an id for it.
Do different colours mean different things, what causes it to grow.
Good or bad

 

[RiaanP]

sponge are filter feeders and therefor generally good to have.

But some blue sponges can grow very aggressively all over the rocks and corals. Keep an eye on it, if spreading, rather cut it out.

 

[madmatt]

@RiaanP it's growing on the rock in my sump.
Only sponge I have in small spots in the main tank is yellow.
Should I remove this blue sponge.
Is the white ok.

 

[RiaanP]

The white is OK.

The blue, I will check it out. It does look a bit different than the overtaking blue I know of. It's texture looks a bit rough, and not as smooth.

 

[RiaanP]

@madmatt

How do these looks now? Growing or not?

 

[madmatt]

About the same size or maybe just smaller.
But it's on the LR in the sump

 

[Apollo]

Matt,

Provided the sponge/s are not overtaking the LR or encroaching on corals in the DT, I would leave them be.
It is extremely difficult to provide a positive ID on the blue sponge you have in the sump, but from your previous posts it does not appear to be overgrowing anything at present. Whilst it is true that there are many sponges which are highly toxic, it may be premature to just rip the sponge out. I'd just observe the sponge in the sump. As for the sponges in your DT, these are good ones to have (yellow & white). Unfortunately many of the sponges that come in with the LR as hitchikers have a poor survival rate in our tanks.

If you're interested in reading more on sponges, have a look at the link below :

Aquarium Invertebrates: A Look at the Sponges