To widen the spectrum of the aquarium hobby....
I've decided to go with something totally out of the ordinary. Freshwater sponges
aren't known to have the beauty of a marine vase sponge but you can get them to grow like some of the simpler marine
ones and create a biocover on rock reminecent of a simple reef. The African Rift Lake sponges are the ones that
truly look more marine than anything else in the Spongilla family.
Color: Usually cream white, but at other times green, brown, and even metallic gray. Food is the factor
to their color.
Temp: 75 to 85 but can take a even larger range without problems
Water Quality: can take on nitrates even at lethal levels to other invertebrates (for example ghost
shrimp) In most cases it will be the last invertebrate to die from from bad water conditions but, also,
it will be the slowest one to recover if damage occurs. Once a sponge degenrates a certain size because of bad condions
that persit for a long time, it will decide to die no matter how the conditions improve.
With all this in mind though optimal growth is with optimal water conditions
Conditions for survival: Water movement, Food and more food and then some which makes this a, not for
everyone type of creature for the tank.
Compatibility: with fish no probelms at all. Plants are a different issue, sometimes
sponges take a liking to growing on plants and smother them,
not sure if with love or hate.
