black sponges

[the-elliotts]

I've noticed since I've moved and set up my tank that I have 2 black spongey things that aregrowing on my rock and getting bigger. Are they good or bad?

 

[Anonymous]

Sponges are almost certainly harmless, although without a photo it is hard to say what you have there.

 

[Len]

I wouldn't worry either. If it's growing, it's alive. Living sponges are harmless. Dying ones (which often turn black) can foul the water a little bit and raise some serious stink if removed from the water

 

[Anonymous]

Living sponges are harmless.

Not always true. Mind you, for the purposes of our tanks, 99.99% of the time it's true.

But some sponges can do some really, really nasty things with toxins. I remember reading a report about 8 or 9 years ago about a group of researchers who had a large sponge (several feet in diameter) in a tub tank of barely larger dimensions than the sponge itself. Over the next few weeks of working with it several of the researchers developed a condition similiar to aphasia - simply from physical contact.

 

[Anonymous]

Living sponges are harmless.

Not always true. Mind you, for the purposes of our tanks, 99.99% of the time it's true.

But some sponges can do some really, really nasty things with toxins. I remember reading a report about 8 or 9 years ago about a group of researchers who had a large sponge (several feet in diameter) in a tub tank of barely larger dimensions than the sponge itself. Over the next few weeks of working with it several of the researchers developed a condition similiar to aphasia - simply from physical contact.

Not to mention sponges of the Family: Clionidae, Genus: Cliona that bore in to rocks, clams, corals, etc. causing severe damage or death.
There are also species of encrusting sponges that can overgrow corals.

Regards,
David Mohr

 

[Anonymous]

good info guys...

 

[the-elliotts]

Here's a so-so pic. It's about an inch long by 3/8ths of an inch wide about the same thickness as well.

 

[Anonymous]

Impossible to tell from that picture (it's hard to ID sponges down to genus and species from pictures) but it appears it could be a species of Chondrilla (an encrusting sponge). I wouldn't worry since you have no corals in the tank. Keep an eye on it and if it starts to grow large simply remove it.

Regards,
David Mohr

 

[IceMan0124]

I worked at lfs a few years ago, and we started getting live rock with jet black sponges growing on it, they gave me one hell of a rash, another employee only had a minor irritation, and the owner had no noticable effect at all, the owners son however had a severe allergic reaction, just by handling the rocks enough, from holding tank to a box that we had to call an ambulance and have him rushed to the er

 

[IceMan0124]

I worked at lfs a few years ago, and we started getting live rock with jet black sponges growing on it, they gave me one hell of a rash, another employee only had a minor irritation, and the owner had no noticable effect at all, the owners son however had a severe allergic reaction, just by handling the rocks enough, from holding tank to a box that we had to call an ambulance and have him rushed to the er