euplectella aspergillum

     

The Venus' Flower Basket, or Euplectella aspergillum, is the only Hexactenellia in the phylum Porifera to be used in hobbyists' aquariums. This is because Hexactinellid sponges are mainly deep ocean sponges that are not suitable for domestic aquarium environments. In traditional Asian cultures, this particular sponge was given as a wedding gift due to the fact that certain bioluminescent shrimp tend to form a symbiosis with them. The sponge houses two small shrimp, a male and a female, who live out their lives inside the sponge. They breed, and when their offspring are tiny, the offspring escape to find a Venus Flower Basket of their own. The shrimp inside of the basket clean it, and in return, the basket provides food for the shrimp by trapping it in its fiberglass-like strands, and then releasing it into the body of the sponge for the shrimp. It is also speculated that the light given off by the sponge may attract other small organisms which the shrimp eat.

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