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By Charles & Linda Raabe
Mactan Island, The Philippines
© 2016  All Rights Reserved

  I have never had a tank that once live rock was introduced a wide variety of sponges did not appear seemingly out of no where, in just about every color and shape imaginable. Most are transitory, making an appearance and shortly disappearing again. Most likely our systems are lacking the proper environment for their long term success. Sponge and Tunicates also seem to be a difficult animal to introduce as a single store bought specimen, very few hobbyists have success with them, although as more systems are kept with much more naturaly occuring filtration methods, that is slowly changing.

SPONGE ARTICLES


Photo by Charles Raabe
A wide assortment of sponge species can be found on a single live rock


 You may notice that the sponges are not named, this is simply because it is all but impossible to correctly identify these animals, even those who study them for a living have a difficult time. Although a few common names are used, such as the pineapple sponge (top row, center) even those names are mixed up frequently.


 Photo by Charles Raabe   Commonly called the Pineapple Sponge   

       Photo by Charles Raabe

 Photo by Charles Raabe      Photo by Laine
                                                                                                                                 A caribbean Tethya spp.

                                                            

TUNICATES
( Also known as Sea Squirts )

Photo by Linda Raabe

Tunicates or Sea Squirts
A very good read by Dr. Ron Shimek

 Photo by Charles Raabe   Photo by Charles Raabe   Photo by Charles Raabe
                  Tunicate                                             Another Tunicate                                 Invidual tunicates

    Photo by Charles Raabe   Photo by Charles Raabe
   Colonial Tunicates  ( Botryllus sp.)                         Tunicates                           Colonial Tunicates  ( Botrylloids sp.)

Photo by Charles Raabe  Photo by Charles Raabe   Photo by Charles Raabe
            Lissoclinum patellum                                Lissoclinum sp.                                     Lissoclinum sp.

 Photo by Charles Raabe   Photo by Charles Raabe   Photo by Charles Raabe
            Colonial Tunicates                                  Colonial Tunicates                         Large single tunicate species

 Photo by Linda Raabe   Photo by Linda Raabe   Photo by Linda Raabe
                 Botryllus sp.

 Photo by Charles Raabe   Photo by Charles Raabe   Photo by Linda Raabe
   One of many transparant Tunicates         

 Photo by Linda Raabe   Photo by Linda Raabe   Photo by Linda Raabe

   
            Nephtheis fascicularis    



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