Sponges- the good, bad, and the ugly?

[mallorieGgator]

So, sponges....who thinks they are all good for your tank? Has anyone ever known of a sponge to be a nuisance? In fact, there are certain sponges that can irritate your zoas and even choke them off and kill them. There is a local guy with a really cool tank. He has a gorgeous colony of zoas but then you get close and realize that the colony is sharing space with a green sponge. This sponge is bright green and is growing over the zoas and choking some of them.
I recently bought a frag of some zoas which had a yellow sponge growing on it. The sponge was growing in tube-like protrusions actually stinging my zoas. Once I removed the sponge, the colony opened an the polyps were much happier.
Don't always think that just because you have a sponge, it's good. I would reccommend removing any sponges growing on your corals unless you are 100% sure they will not take over the coral or produce a biological agent to attack.

Anyone have any stories of nuisance sponges?

[jimsflies]

I agree...I tend to not like sponges...they are one of the liverock hitchhikers that sway me toward perferring dry rock. Once some of them start growing they can become a real pain. I had a black one that was impossible to kill...even after removing a rock and drying it out, it still came back to life. I currently have a yellow one spreading in the shadows along the back part of my tank. Fortunately it hasn't spread to the areas with corals yet.

[Sir Patrick]

I have had a strange black encrusting type sponge, very hard and slippery, overtake some polyps in the past.

I prefer my sponges as part of my filtration system, apart from my display tank.

[mallorieGgator]

I have the white spindly ones in my 'fuge and I also have an orange sponge. The orange doesn't really spread. I do like using sponges as part of my filtration as well. I just think some people really need to be informed that not all sponges are good for your corals.

Interesting experiences as well you two.

[larryandlaura]

We have a orange sponge and its great for filtration. It dosnt grow quick at all and looks killer. If sponges are taking over just cut them and sell them. Unless its the white milky sponge you get with used love rock. Stuff encrusts and never dies.

[MUCHO REEF]

Though beautiful in their own right, I have never preferred ownership of them. They can rapidly encroach upon both sensitive and non-sensitive corals. If isolated away from the reef and watched like a hawk, they can be tolerate and/or thoroughly enjoyed, me, it's one less thing I'd prefer being concerned about. I once purchased a mother colony of zoanthids with a quarter size beautiful orange sponge growing on the lip of the rock. I respectfully ask the LFS to chip it off and keep it.

Mucho Reef

[Jarred1]

I have a neon green candy cane that is being taken over by a black sponge, how should I go about getting it off of my coral?

[MizTanks]

I have a very pretty rose colored sponge. It's been on the same piece of lr for almost 2yrs now. Hasn't grow much but I can see it's alive.