Australian Spider Sponge Care
- Thread starter Courtney
- Start date
ReefingFun
Member
Not sure about tips or tricks, but can perhaps just give some general information that was told to me by a lady in our aquarium club.
She kept a log for over a year of her Spider Sponge, as they are hard to keep. I can only recommend that you do the same to follow up on your sponge's progression.
Summary of her log - will refer to the Spider Sponge as "The Sponge":
- Flow: The Sponge seemed to prefer a strong flow, but not aimed directly at it. The Sponge thrived most with changing flow and seems to prefer a horizontal stream, rather than a diagonal one. Avoid upwards pushing flow.
- Food: Had the best results with phytoplankton. When The Sponge grew, I could occasionally feed small mysis, larvae or other types of food that fits. However it seemed to be healthiest with the plankton. Take special attention when feeding other corals or creatures that the flow does not carry bigger food parts in The Sponge's direction, as the pores can get clogged.
- Water: The Sponge started to "wither" with Nitrate levels higher than 15ppm. As such I kept nitrates lower than 5-10ppm at all times.
That's what I can remember from it really. Not much but yeah... Wasn't really so interested in that one tbh, as in no way am I prepared to keep one (yet).
Good luck with it and would love to see a log with pics sometimes
She kept a log for over a year of her Spider Sponge, as they are hard to keep. I can only recommend that you do the same to follow up on your sponge's progression.
Summary of her log - will refer to the Spider Sponge as "The Sponge":
- Flow: The Sponge seemed to prefer a strong flow, but not aimed directly at it. The Sponge thrived most with changing flow and seems to prefer a horizontal stream, rather than a diagonal one. Avoid upwards pushing flow.
- Food: Had the best results with phytoplankton. When The Sponge grew, I could occasionally feed small mysis, larvae or other types of food that fits. However it seemed to be healthiest with the plankton. Take special attention when feeding other corals or creatures that the flow does not carry bigger food parts in The Sponge's direction, as the pores can get clogged.
- Water: The Sponge started to "wither" with Nitrate levels higher than 15ppm. As such I kept nitrates lower than 5-10ppm at all times.
That's what I can remember from it really. Not much but yeah... Wasn't really so interested in that one tbh, as in no way am I prepared to keep one (yet).
Good luck with it and would love to see a log with pics sometimes
ReefingFun
Member
It generally takes a couple of days for it to open up.
ReefingFun
Member
What are your water parameters?
Sorry that it perished. Don't beat yourself up though. These are notorious for not doing well in aquariums.
Mike Johnson
Well-Known Member
I have quite a few sponges; some for years. I also have a tank with intense lighting, so I'm sure that makes a difference. I have found that none of them grow well in bright light; in fact shaded is the only way that they do well. Moving a rock and exposing a sponge to bright light kills that part of quickly.