Species Name: Mycale laevis

Authority: (Carter, 1882)

Common Name: Orange King/Icing Sponge

Range: Western Atlantic Ocean: Florida, Caribbean, and Bahamas

Natural Environment: Encrusts base areas of corals

General Husbandry: Has a temperature range of 68 to 79°F (20 - 26°C). One of the easier encrusting sponges to maintain. However, it will bore into stony corals! They feed upon plankton and suspended detritus, and require numerous feedings per day of live and/or preserved commercial phytoplankton products or that of animal and plant powders that produce suspended products in the bulk water. Needs to be placed in the shade and where the current is quite swift.

Taxonomy: Subphylum Cellularia, Class Demospongiae, Subclass Ceractinomorpha, Order: Poecilosclerida, Suborder Mycalina