sponge from cancun..saveable??????

[clown-lover]

my parents just got back from cancun. they brought me two sponges....one is pink, one is tanish off white. the problem is that they have been out of water for about three days in a bag. they told my parents that if i weighed them down in my tank, they would be ok. is this true?
i just got to see them today....when my parents got back....and the pink one has dead tissue on the edge on the bottom.
are they saveable??
or should i just let them dry out
and no, they weren't picked right off the reef, they said that they washed ashore while they were snorkling
thanks

 

[thisistodd]

sure thats what they all say haha. but i dont think a sponge can be out of water for any period of time, maybe a second, but definitely not 3 days from what i know.

 

[clown-lover]

so even though it's still in full color except on the edge, it won't make it?
don't even try?

 

[montidanae]

i woulnt try, could cause a spike, i woudl dry them up and use them as deforation around your tank, like on your hood, ir on the stand, something like that.

 

[clown-lover]

i planned on rinsing them in a bucket of tank water to get off anything dead
but i still wouldn't want to harm my own tank...so if that's best then i won't
how do i go about drying them out without loosing their color

 

[bot587]

if a sponge touches air it supposedly is poisoned by the air... (poisoned for lack of a better term)... there is no chance of survival (if yuou put it in your tank it will spike

 

[montidanae]

the oxygen gets stuck in the cell pores, unable to get them out, it dies after getting attacked from algae caused by the oxygen gettign all nasty and stuff.

 

[montidanae]

i usualy bleach things from the beach like shells and such, but to keep its color i think if you put it out in the sun it shoudl dri and the Zoanthexell(sp? lol!) will not be lost, still haveing a pale color???

 

[clown-lover]

anyone know how to let it dry out without it turning colors

 

[clown-lover]

ok cool....
right now, it has a smell to it....will that go away or can i rinse it in sw to help it go away

 

[montidanae]

uaualy i bleach the things to get rid of the smell, but you cant, you will lose the color, rinsing it wont do anythign i dont think, a day or 2 in the sun will though, drie it up and stop all smells.

 

[clown-lover]

ok cool...thanks for the info

 

[clown-lover]

one more ??
if i rinse them in fresh water....just to get the sand and stuff off....will that make the color go away...or is it better to rinse it off in sw

 

[montidanae]

FW will work.

 

[ophiura]

And, FWIW, it was a nice thought but you may want to discourage your parents from doing that in the future. Border inspections are getting pretty tight about things coming into the US like that. It is best just not to risk it, rather than hoping no one searches. Believe me, I've worked with DEAD museum specimens and the paperwork that must be filled out is pretty amazing.
Besides, you don't want to end up with a "Stinker Sponge." Those things smell terrible when they are fresh! ugh. :nervous: