i want a sponge eating fish

Discussion in 'Tropical Fish' started by Peredhil, Jan 15, 2010.

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  1. Peredhil

    Peredhil Giant Squid

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    I'm going coral shopping this weekend. So I may have an opportunity to pick up a fish.

    I have a 55 gallon with 2 clowns and a blenny. I don't want a fish I have to feed constantly.


    My primary fishy feature desire is one that will decimate or at least pick at sponge.

    I have no idea what this sponge is but I want something to keep it in check.

    Suggestions on fish variety I should research for this task?

    Pics below of the sponge in question. These pics are old and that rock is nuked but it's showing up on other rock now.

    http://www.3reef.com/forums/id/some-type-sponge-71677.html

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
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  3. Gexx

    Gexx Giant Squid

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    i thought you ment a sponge that eats fish. got my hope ups lol. i have no idea what that is.
     
  4. kcbrad

    kcbrad Giant Squid

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    Found this little thing on a website: Sponges are the simplest of all invertebrates. Because sponges are low in nutritive value, contain a lot of indigestible material, and are protected by chemical and physical means, they are not a particularly good food source for fishes. Only 11 species of Caribbean fishes regularly eat sponges. Species that feed on sponges have evolved relatively recently suggesting that competition forced them to evolve to eat a less-preferred food source.

    Sponges make up the majority, 70 – 95%, of the diet of most angelfishes (Family Pomacanthidae). Angelfishes prefer to feed on the sponges with the lowest content of protective spicules. Sponge-feeding fishes have strong jaws that contain overlapping rows of tightly packed teeth that they use to teach through the tough sponge material. They secrete a thick layer of mucous around the pieces of food to protect their stomachs during digestion.
     
    Last edited: Jan 15, 2010
  5. kcbrad

    kcbrad Giant Squid

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    I also found a couple larger fish that will eat sponge, but they are too big for a 55, and also really hard to keep alive (so the web says).
     
  6. johnmaloney

    johnmaloney 3reef Sponsor

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    you should definitely get an angel fish, corals be damned!

    they also make sponge eating nudis and crabs and snails these days if you want to go that route. might be hard to get ahold of them. pencil urchins eat sponge.
     
  7. Peredhil

    Peredhil Giant Squid

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    angel's are too big, but what about Dwarfs? I was thinking maybe a flameangel... Any ideas if they'll peck at it?

    well, without the corals... I got nothin :p

    John, what can you sell me that will fix this? I will buy it. You know my setup well enough and we've done business often enough I trust your recommendations. (I still want that conch BTW ;D)


    a nudi that would not eat my zoa's or other corals but focus on sponge, I would LOVE to have that. That would be ideal solution. I think the nudi would do well - between how fast they can eat and how fast this sponge can grow, they might be in perfect harmony.

    Crabs scare me, but I'm willing to try it. Send me an invoice I'll pay it! Whatchoo got 4 me?!
     
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  9. jonjonwells

    jonjonwells Great Blue Whale

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    When I got my bi-color angel, my sponge population disappeared within a week. No sponge survived.
     
  10. kcbrad

    kcbrad Giant Squid

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  11. johnmaloney

    johnmaloney 3reef Sponsor

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    any angel will wipe it out basically. i like french angels, but the corals would be gone quick. i lost a lightly stocked 72 to a juvie french angel over a month but it was cool. It ate all the colorful zoas within a couple of days, (the skirts at least), and all the feather dusters. It left the brown palys though...go figure. :) Cool fish though...

    i dont keep many of those critters on hand, and I am sick as a dog but when I am on my flippers again I will let you know. i have a pencil urchin, the shipping would be too much though, just pick one up locally and give it a shot. Honestly I would be psyched about having some sponge success.
     
  12. NeighborTomita

    NeighborTomita Banned

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    :eek: John, how could you say that?!