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While browsing an entirely different group of animals, I alighted upon something that will be of considerable interest to Tanganyikan Rift keepers.

There is a freshwater encrusting sponge called Spongilla moorei that lives in Lake Tanganyika, about which relatively little seems to be known from an ecological standpoint. However, it is of interest because it contains within its body matrix green cells that are, apparently, symbiotic algae known as zoochlorellae - analogous to the zooxanthellae that live with marine corals. Therefore one would conclude from this that it lives in parts of the lake that are well illuminated. What Spongilla moorei feeds upon I haven't yet been able to determine, nor have I been able to determine if the sponge forms part of the diet of any of our Tanganyikan Cichlids in the wild, but it's worth tracking down.

Now there would be something for you to show off if you could find some and cultivate it in your Tanganyikan aquarium - a bona fide freshwater sponge!


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Yeah, there are a few types of freshwater sponges out there, but none really make it into aquariums often. They are usually troublesome to keep (as can be the marine sponges) and just don't excite a lot of people. Surely though, as the hobby continues to grow, we'll be seeing more people with a taste for the unusual.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."