Haliclona carerulea

(Hechtel, 1965)

Blue Sponge

Range: Central Pacific Ocean: Hawaii and Guam; and also Western Atlantic Ocean: Florida, Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean.

Natural Environment: Inhabits rocky rubble reef areas and often found in well-lighted areas.

General Husbandry: Occasionally seen in the tropical home aquarium trade.

Differs from almost all other sponge species as it appears to be almost entirely dependent on photosynthetic interactions to produce its nutritional requirements, therefore, appears to do better under moderate lighting, e.g., PAR 250 - 300.

Additionally, may benefit from at least one daily feeding of live and/or preserved commercial phytoplankton and zooplankton products, or that of animal and plant powders that produce suspended products in the bulk water.

Does not ship well, but if you get a healthy piece, it will fair well in the reef aquarium.

Taxonomy:

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Porifera

Class: Demospongiae

Subclass: Heteroscleromorpha

Order: Haploscierida

Family: Chalinidae

Genus: Haliclona

FYI: When purchasing new specimens, they should be bagged under water, i.e., never lifted out of the water. Nor should any air or oxygen be added to the bag, as it may become trapped in the animal's tissue while being transported and lead to its early demise.

They are not too sensitive to temperature changes, yet sudden changes in salinity may have drastic effects.

New specimens should not contain any gray or white tissue, which is generally a sign of dying or dead tissue. However, it is possible to cut that section out, of course under water.

Experience Level: Intermediate

Diet: Photosynthetic/Filter feeder

Aquarium Environment: Reef or fish-only aquarium

Coral Safe: Yes

Fish Safe: Yes

Invertebrate Safe: Yes

Acclimation Time: Sensitive to specific gravity/salinity changes, therefore be sure to adjust the bag's water to that of the aquarium in which it will be placed by slowly adding small amounts of aquarium water to the bag every few minutes. In most cases, this process should take at least 15 minutes.

Aquarium Hardiness: Moderate

Temperature Range: 72 - 83°F (22 - 28°C)

Minimum Tank Size: 50 gallons

Water Movement: WM 2 - 3

Specific Gravity: 1.023 - 1.025

pH: 8.0 - 8.4