Saltcorner
By Bob Goemans
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Ocean Nutrition 

Family Mycalidae

Mycale laevis

(Carter, 1882)

Icing Sponge

Not Reef Tank Suitable

Not Suitable for Fish-Only Tank

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

Natural Environment: Inhabits shallow reefs where it encrusts base areas of corals.

Aquarium Suitability: May arrive attached to corals 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: Poecilosclerida

    Family: Mycalidae

    Genus: Mycale

FYI: Shown here for identification only.

 Mycale laevis (Icing Sponge)
Photo © Bob Fenner
Clathria curacaoensis Svenzea zeai
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