spones are they easy to keep, i have never had one last longer then 3 months

[ribbetribbet]

sponges are they easy to keep, i have never had one last longer then 3 months

I love the look that sponges give to a tank but when o brought aElephant-ear sponge it looked good for about 3 months and then i had to take it out because it strated to die and make the water go bad, when i noticed that it was doing bad i feed it and did a water change and it still want off.
when i ake a friend about it he told me that sponges are need long living in a aquarium tank and that it did well to last 3 months, i really would like to buy more but am i going to kill them too if i do so. can any one give me same info please. i have added photos to my gallery from my old tank so you can look at the type of spone i had it for 2months when photo was taken.

 

[wrightme43]

If you can find them, I have had good success with what are called red ball sponges. They are from the Carribean sea. Pseudaxinella is the latin name. I also have a unidentified orange sponge in my tank that is like the red ball but it is much rougher in texture and its groth pattern is totall different. I have been able to cut off small pieces with scissors and get it to grow (very slowly) in two other tanks. My understanding of the elephant ear is that it is not very hardy in a tank, and doesnt like to have the way water has been flowing over it while it was growing up, changed. Sometimes in my tank, I find the best way to orient something for life, is not the best way to orient for viewing. Its really hard to tell with a sponge if its happy. HTH Steve

 

[ribbetribbet]

when i go window shoping lol, i will keep an eye out for a red ball sponge but i don't know if i'll find one, most of the coral i get came from the great Barrier reef in Australia.