Fire sponges are bright yellow-green or red, they are common in tropical and subtropical waters. They appear in small seaweed like growths on rocks and coral. Divers often mistake fire sponges for seaweed, and accidently touch the fire coral. Upon contact, an intense pain can be felt that can last from two days to two weeks. The very small fibers on fire corals contain tentacles that stick out from numerous surface pores (similar to jellyfish stings).Fire sponges also have a sharp external skeleton that can scrape the skin. Like all other sponges, fire sponges do not have a nervous system, they rely mostly on water and oxygen intake, waste removal, and digestion as their only needs. They react to nothing around them and are too simple to have a nervous system.
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