Reef Safe Critters Explained - Reef Safe Sponges

Sponges For The Reef Aquarium

Sponges are one of the simplest creatures on the earth and have been around since there was life on this planet. They are animals, but their cells are not specialized like most flora and fauna. They act like a collection of separate organisms working together for a common goal: to filter our particulate matter from the water to use as food. They use their porous bodies to passively filter out phytoplankton and other food from the water. Passive filtering means that they do not expend any energy in the search for food; they just use the water’s natural currents to bring food to them.

Sponges can help in cleaning the water of your reef aquarium by removing particulate matter and even some chemicals as the water flows through their bodies. It is important to note some things that apply to all sponges, especially if you plan on placing them in your aquarium:

1) Sponges have no life span and can last indefinitely in the wild as well as in captivity if given the proper care.

2) Sponges must NEVER be exposed to air!! Let me repeat… Sponges must NEVER be exposed to air!! A sponge’s body is made of millions of small holes and water passageways that are used to filter food from water. If the sponge is exposed to air, its channels could become clogged with an air bubble and then not function properly. Think of it like this: if you dam a river completely, everything that was growing downstream will die; the same rule applies to sponges. If a sponge’s passageway is clogged, everything downstream of that passageway will die. Thus, it is very important that when you bring a sponge home from the store, take the sponge in the bag it was given to you in and open the bag underwater so that you don’t expose the sponge to air.

3) Some sponges can kill coral by smothering them or excreting chemicals that the coral cannot survive. We have listed the sponges that have never been know to kill corals and HIGHLY recommend that you do not risk putting one that is not on our list into your tank; it’s just not worth the risk.

We will be adding pictures of these sponges as fast as we can take them, so check back for pictures regularly. If you would like to contribute to our database, just e-mail your pictures to Submit@reefaquariuminfo.com and we will try to implement them in our site.

Orange Fan Sponge:

The Orange Fan Sponge is shaped like a fan!! You didn’t see that coming did you? Anyway, it resembles one of those Japanese fans the Geisha girls use to use to mask their faces. Like all other sponges, the Orange Fan Sponge is a filter feeder and will require medium flow and lighting. This sponge is reef safe and is a very attractive addition to any tank.

Red or Orange Tree Sponge:

The Red and Orange Tree sponges grow branches like trees and are a very attractive addition to a reef aquarium. It is a filter feeder like all other sponges and requires medium flow and lighting to be healthy and flourish.

Yellow and Red Ball Sponge (Cinachyra allocladia):

The Yellow and Red Ball Sponges are as their names imply: ball-shaped. These sponges can be found in sand beds or gripping to rocks. They are an attractive addition to any reef aquarium. Although they are called Ball Sponges, they can vary in shape depending upon water conditions; however, the shape remains generally spherical.

Like all sponges, they are filter feeders and require medium flow and lighting to be healthy in a reef aquarium.