Sponges, Sponges, Everywhere!

by | Dec 7, 2016 | Corals, Feeding | 0 comments

aquarium sponge

Sponges are great filter feeders

If you do any diving anywhere, you will see sponges everywhere. Some of them are more colorful than corals, and some of them you can sit in. All sponges are water pumps and filters, which makes them useful in the sea and in our reefs. Sponges don’t move, they sit there, eat, and get fat. A typical sponge can pump 20,000 times its own volume in water through its cells in one day. All that water is also filtered by the sponge using “choanocytes,” which are just tiny, cone-shaped towers with sticky cells on them to catch food. Each tower has one flagellum, or hair-like thing. The flagellum waves back and forth very fast, creating a pretty strong current through the animal.

The internal structure of a sponge is made of a substance called “spongin.” I wonder where they got that name. Spongin can contain either calcium carbonate, like corals, or silicon dioxide, which is the stuff they made your car windshield out of. Another word for it is glass. MORE

  • Saltwater Smarts

    Saltwater Smarts is a unique online resource created by long-time aquarists Chris Aldrich and Jeff Kurtz to inspire and entertain a new generation of marine aquarium hobbyists while helping them acquire the reliable, authoritative knowledge base they need to succeed with a saltwater system. By clarifying key concepts, techniques, and terminology, as well as sharing expert insights from fellow enthusiasts and industry professionals, Chris and Jeff hope to promote a more accessible, sustainable, and enjoyable marine aquarium hobby. Read more about our mission and the contributors who are part of our team.

    View all posts

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *