Yellow Fire Death!

[Guest Ominojacu]

Well I added a couple of sponges and gorgonians to my tank. The yellow fires sponge turned brown over night and spiked the ammonia so high, everything else was dead in the morning. Unforutunetly I only have the one tank and did not have a quarantine, that would have saved me. My clowns are dead, and all of the little things are gone, copepods, mysid shrimp, isopods, etc. The red red tree sponges and red ball sponge appear to be doing okay as well as the gorgonians. I am currently on disaster recovery doing 50% water changes and praying that something will survive. The green star polyp, doesn't extend it's polyps, I am hoping that it is protecting itself and is not dead as well. It was probably a combination of events, first I ordered more then one item to make shipping worthwhile, second everything came double, two of everything, which would have been great in a larger tank, but not in my nano. I can't knock the dealer, everthing was healthy in appearance when they arrive. While I was able to find information about sponges, nothing about the yellow fire sponge specifically, I am going to guess that it is extra sensitive to light, or conditions, more so then the red tree or red ball sponge. I guess the lesson learned is not to get more then one item at a time, and if no quarantine is available, monitor the ammonia, and yank any new additions at the first sign of trouble.

[HowardofNOVA]

Sorry to hear about your plight!

Adding sponges, though beautiful, never worked for me. They always desolved into nothing in short time.

Problem with sponges is the moment they get air on them, they suffocate and die. So much so, that I have given up on them all together and recommend everyone else as well. Unless you can find someone who has one for sale that has been in their tank for awhile, then best to leave them alone.

[Guest Ominojacu]

Sorry to hear about your plight!

Adding sponges, though beautiful, never worked for me. They always desolved into nothing in short time.

Problem with sponges is the moment they get air on them, they suffocate and die. So much so, that I have given up on them all together and recommend everyone else as well. Unless you can find someone who has one for sale that has been in their tank for awhile, then best to leave them alone.

 

I got them off ebay, and the dealer did take precautions such as wrapping each in paper towels and keeping them under water through out the process. I was careful, not to expose them to air. After the fact, I have found much information suggesting that the red ball sponge and the fire sponge are bad choices, since even when healthy the emit defense toxins. It maybe possible that the yellow fire sponge is not compatible with the red ball, and it's defense toxins killed it? I've also found that they can store and and release nitrates, causing spikes, I wish I had found this information earlier, I wouldn't have been so anxious to try them. The red tree and the red ball sponges currently seem well, but if I can't get the ammonia under control I will start pulling them as well.

[dzekunoi]

From what I read sponges are notoriouse for all of a sudden death and taking entire tank with them...

Sorry to hear about your mishap!

[Caribbean Jake]

Omino

sorry to hear that.. I know it is tough, specially when you loose something dear that you have cared for.. I know cause I went thru that when the exit flat worm debacle.

[GaryL]

sorry to here about your loss.

 

sponges have to be totally submerged were no air at all can get to them. wrapping in a paper towell will not help like corals. also when a sponge goes they have a calcareous(sp?) skeleton eventhough may seem like its not much they are like shards of glass. feels like you have been working with fiberglass insulation all day. at least that is what it felt like when i help repair a sponge tank.

[Guest Ominojacu]

Omino

sorry to hear that.. I know it is tough, specially when you loose something dear that you have cared for.. I know cause I went thru that when the exit flat worm debacle.

 

Thanks, whats hard is doing all the work to recover from it when your still mourning your loss, still I have hope that some things will recover.

[Guest Ominojacu]

sorry to here about your loss.

 

sponges have to be totally submerged were no air at all can get to them. wrapping in a paper towell will not help like corals. also when a sponge goes they have a calcareous(sp?) skeleton eventhough may seem like its not much they are like shards of glass. feels like you have been working with fiberglass insulation all day. at least that is what it felt like when i help repair a sponge tank.

 

I heard that blamed on defense chemicals they release, Currently Two red tree sponges and two red ball sponges are still alive in the the tank, After two 50% water changes and a sh*t load of zeolite, the ammonia is down to 25 ppm. I don't know what killed the yellow flame sponges, but they went quickly. It might have been air contact, but I think even that would have taken some time to show up. regardless, I am going to very cautious with the next thing I add, and will probably hold off on fish until I have all the corals stocked. Iam hoping that the current sponges don't cause any more issues.