exotic sponges

exotic sponges,
originally uploaded by Hongyee.

Bought this new piece today - primarily for the really cool-looking green sponge that was hitch-hiking on the piece of rock! The pink little thing is a dendronepthea - one of those "corals for rent". It's almost impossible to keep in captivity, as it is fully heterotrophic and needs to be fed phytoplankton. A couple of people in the US reportedly had success with them though, and I'm hoping this one survives. Even if it doesn't - there's still the sponge! =D The feathery, whitish sitck-like things poking out from all angles are either hydroids or "black coral", I'm not sure which.

The other piece is a yellow sponge I picked up at the farm, it's incredibly easy to keep and has a very intricate anatomy. From afar it looks like a glob of yellow faeces, but on closeup it has loads of holes, large and small.