Spiny Urchin.. good or bad?

[Anubis1]

ok.. we are going to eventually have two tanks set up.. one with bubble tip anemones.. and one with seahorses... are spiny urchins safe for either tank?

I have read that the eat coralline algae.. so i am not sure if we want one of these guys or not.. how destructive are they?

thanks!

 

[Anonymous]

There are many different genus and species of "Spiny Urchin" some more troublesome than others.
Some species bore into the rock which can destablize your rock piles, others are 'bulls in a china closet' topling coral frags. While many are herbivores and detrivores others are carnivores feeding on dead tissue and corals. Some are even highly toxic with venom tipped spines. While the herbivorous urchins do eat coralline algae they actually seed other parts of the tank with the spores and many people claim they spur the growth of coralline algae.

Regards,
David Mohr

 

[Anubis1]

well... this one has been offered to us... and all they know is it's a spiny urchin... not sure if the picture helps any or not...

 

[Anonymous]

That woud be fine for either tank providing you don't have corals.

Regards,
David Mohr

 

[Anubis1]

thanks David!

 

[shavo]

I just got rid of one, but i have corals and they can plow thru them, I think you should be fine, just watch and see how things interact

 

[Anonymous]

Just my experience, I had a pencil urchin (tiny, about the size of a dime) that hitchhiked in on my rock 8 months ago, and then a similar sized spiny (much thinner spines than in your pic) that came in on some rock about 4 months ago. There are now 2 of each and they grow really fast. The original pencil is the size of my two fists together! He moves really fast and is surprisingly difficult to catch. I have been trying over the last few days to catch him as he is now stripping my coralline off the rocks, ripping right down to 'new' never before exposed surfaces in places. He also is starting to knock stuff over.... They are annoying me now and although they are not life threatening even now, they are coming out at the first opportunity. That said, the species are both different to yours and you may have more luck, and mine have been fun to watch over the last coupla months....

 

[Anonymous]

I had a long spine and the only problem I had was it got big enough to really knock stuff over so I got rid of it.