Saltcorner
By Bob Goemans
By Bob Goemans
Not Reef Tank Suitable
Not Suitable for Fish-Only Tank
Range: Indo-West Pacific Ocean
Natural Environment: Inhabits reef slopes where it encrusts both living and dead coral.
Aquarium Suitability: May arrive attached to corals or rock from local areas. Remove as necessary.
Keep in mind, if a hitchhiker sponge arrives attached to a coral specimen or live rock, it is reasonable to assume that at one time it was subjected to 'air' when the specimen or rock was harvested/shipped and/or transferred to various storage areas, thereby endangering the ongoing lifespan of the hitchhiker sponge, as it should never to subjected to air! Therefore the ongoing culture of hitchhiker sponges is dismal at best!
Best left in the wild.
Taxonomy:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Porifera
Class: Demospongiae
Subclass: Heteroscleromorpha
Order: Clionaida
Family: Spirastrellidae
Genus: Spheciospongia
FYI: Was previously identified as Spirastrella purpurea.
For a photo of this sponge, visit the Baensch Marine Atlas Vol. 2, page 34.
