Saltcorner
By Bob Goemans
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Family Spongiidae

Spongia agaricia

Pallas, 1766

Elephant-Ear Sponge

Not Reef Tank Suitable

Not Suitable for Fish-Only Tank

Range: Northern Atlantic Ocean: Mediterranean.

Natural Environment: Inhabits reef flats and hard substrates.

Aquarium Suitability: Not collected for the home tropical aquarium trade.

Best left in the wild.

Taxonomy:

    Kingdom: Animalia

    Phylum: Porifera

    Class: Demospongiae

    Subclass: Keratosa

    Order: Dictyoceratida

    Family: Spongiidae

    Genus: Spongia

FYI: Shown here for identification purpose only.

Has a temperature range of 50 to 65°F (10 - 18°C).

Sponges posses no nervous, digestive or excretory systems, and feed by filtering suspended bacteria and fine detritus. Strong water movement is vital to almost all, not only for carrying food to these sessile creatures but also to carry waste/unused matter away. In fact, a sponge the size of a baseball can filter about fifty gallons of water per hour!

Sometimes used as a bath or industrial sponge.

 Spongia agaricia (Elephant-Ear Sponge)
Photo © biology.uoa.gr
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