Sponge?

[m3drver]

looks like as the weeks go by on my newly setup tank all kinds of things are popping up. These things look like sponges and appear to not move or do anything else.

Thanks for all the help so far. I'm sure I'll have more questions as time goes on so thanks in advance!

 

[melosu58]

They almost look like some type of polyps. Check this out.

Xtalreef

 

[Sadielynn]

Those are either palys or zoanthids ...
What kind of lighting , flow ect do you have .what are your inhabitants ,
and perameters
Ammonia
NitrIte
NitrAte
PH
spg and temp

 

[m3drver]

They almost look like some type of polyps. Check this out.

Xtalreef

Melosu58,

from the pics on that site I'd say what i have are ZOANTHIDS . I took a closer look tonight and can barley see small appendages on the ends of most of the polyps. and, contrary to what I mentioned in my first post, they seem to open when the lights are on and close at lights out.

Those are either palys or zoanthids ...
What kind of lighting , flow ect do you have .what are your inhabitants ,
and perameters
Ammonia
NitrIte
NitrAte
PH
spg and temp

Sadielynn,

the tank is still cycling so there are no inhabitants other than what came on the LR.

46 Gal Bow
tank parameters:
Ammonia: .25 (for some reason this number hasn't changed in 3 weeks)
Nitrite:0
Nitrate:5
PH:8.4
SPG:1.025
Temp:78.5
Lighting: one 30watt 10k florescent and one 420 actinic florescent.
Flow: Koralia #4 ( soon to be replaced with two #2 Koralias )
CPR Aquafuge2 PS (with LR rubble and a 2 inch live sand bed)
45# LR

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Agree that they look like unhappy zoanthids.

 

[Sadielynn]

They may fair ok with that lighting tho you may wish to up your lighting at some point if you want to get more than the hitch hiker coral
As to the ammonia you may wish to either get another ammonia kit or have it cross tested to see where you are , ( I tested mine weekly and took samples in to diffrent stores biweekly to cross test) If you have cured rock that number should start to decline here soon ...

 

[usmcmarc]

I was gonna say zoos also...Are they always closed up like that?

 

[m3drver]

Agree that they look like unhappy zoanthids.

yeah, the tank is still going through its cycle so I imagine they'd be stressed out.

They may fair ok with that lighting tho you may wish to up your lighting at some point if you want to get more than the hitch hiker coral
As to the ammonia you may wish to either get another ammonia kit or have it cross tested to see where you are , ( I tested mine weekly and took samples in to diffrent stores biweekly to cross test) If you have cured rock that number should start to decline here soon ...

My intentions were for a FOWLR tank. so as far as lighting goes, I'll have to keep the lighting that I have for the moment. but maybe replace the Actinic with another 10k. or do the Zoas need the actinic? I have been looking at a CF retrofit kit as well 96 Watt Bright Kits .

I was getting a bit suspicious of my test kit too. I'll head to the LFS tomorrow and have my water tested there. thanks for the tip.

I was gonna say zoos also...Are they always closed up like that?

Yep pretty much. I might catch them a bit more open at times but thats about it. they are tiny and new ones seem to be appearing every now and then

 

[austinsdad]

Ammonia not moving in 3 weeks. I'm really concerned about that. Either a bad test kit or something is still dying. Dunno, but 3 weeks???

 

[johnmaloney]

look like sponges to me too. good luck finding an id on a sponge, sponge guides are hard to come by.

 

[Sadielynn]

look like sponges to me too. good luck finding an id on a sponge, sponge guides are hard to come by.

Sponges do not have a crown like a zoa .. If you look closely you will see that it is an irritated Zoa or paly .
IF they continue to spread then they may be fine with your lighting , you can always add the addtional acitinic as they can benifit from that as well .... they may not be as bright as others but some zoas will take just a little ammount of light

 

[m3drver]

Thanks Sadielynn, I'll keep the Actinic in there for now. Mucho appreciated!

 

[johnmaloney]

Sponges come in a million shapes, I have seen plenty that look similar to the ones on the rocks. Plus they are spreading, do almost dead zoas usually multiply?

 

[Sadielynn]

Yes they can spread it is a defence mechanisium to prevent them from going "extinct"
You are correct that they come in many sizes and shapes however these look nothing like sponges ... M3 when you touch them do they react?? close tighter ?

 

[m3drver]

Yes they can spread it is a defence mechanisium to prevent them from going "extinct"
You are correct that they come in many sizes and shapes however these look nothing like sponges ... M3 when you touch them do they react?? close tighter ?

I'll throw some gloves on and let you know later on today... I'm betting that they will but we'll see.
Last night I was tinkering with the lights and decided to see what it looked like with just the Actinic light on. The center part of the polyps were glowing. pretty cool.

I also just got back from the LFS, they tested my tank water and got the same results as I did.

 

[m3drver]

M3 when you touch them do they react?? close tighter ?

Sadielynn,

confirmed. When I touched the polyps they closed up nice and tight.

 

[Sadielynn]

They are polyps what type not sure but based on the size I am going to say zoanthids Sponges will not react I would also recommend letting your tank continue an addtional week and do another test to see where you are at in your cycle , if it remains at .25 something is dying off just what I can not say but would say at that point to do a H20 change of about 25% and monitor if they remain at 0 you can start adding a CUC ...

 

[johnmaloney]

You can't get them all right.

 

[m3drver]

They may fair ok with that lighting tho you may wish to up your lighting at some point if you want to get more than the hitch hiker coral

So now that we've IDed the polyps, I want to try to keep them healthy and thriving. If I up the lighting to a 96W 50/50 single PC light, will that be enough to keep the polyps happy?

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Sadielynn]

It should be espcially if you keep them in the upper half of your tank. You can make more of a judgment call once your cycle ends , right now they are irritated and probably wont fully open As for the glow you see under the acitinic prett cool HUH ? Ours irridess a bright green color under ours You wont need to feed them as they pull from the lights and from the water column what they need