urchin opinion

[nycdominicanreef]

i was snorkeling in the dominican republic and came about a huge, this was like urchin planet, a racist looking one (like 2 or 3 black long spine urchins, then every other urchin was white.
After extensive reading (as everyone should do before purchasing something for their tank) they are really good algae cleaners but also eat coralline and can be bulldozers and knock stuff over. Anyone have urchins in their reef, if so , let me know whats your take on them

 

[ryangrieder]

in the past ive had an orange eye, pencil, long spine, and pin needle urchin, all of them really never harmed anything. i never saw them eat coraline, yet also never saw them eat my algae either. i currently have two blue tuxs, they are real nice and simple. bangaii cardnails actually feel protected in long spine urchins. they swim in the long tenticles and get a symbolic bond like the clowns and anemones do. real cool site to see. some can be a little difficult but most mine were ok. i never had one die, just gave them away cause they grow very quickly.

 

[nycdominicanreef]

so if you could choose btwn tuxedo and longspine, what would u go with?

 

[ScorpionSys]

I have a long spine urchin in my tank its only about 2" in diameter its been in my tank for 2 upgrades 9 years now doesn't seem to grow any lol. It moves all around the tank looks to clean the glass and rocks but not very well. Most of the time I don't even notice it in the tank behind the rocks and such. when its actually on the glass where you can see the underside they are pretty cool to watch.

I never seen a loss of coraline and it dosent seem to bother anything in the tank that I have noticed. just another strange creature to watch when it shows itself.

 

[ryangrieder]

tux is not a big urchin but i like it cause it looks like a blue leather color. i like it

 

[CrashGibson]

I have had a long spine orange ringed urchin in my tank for almost 3 years. Always did good at grazing on the unwanted algae (did nothing for coraline), but ate any decorative plant I tried to put in, halidmia, money plant, shaving brush...you name it. But recently in the last month I saw it ate one nuclear green button polyp but then left the rest alone (colony of maybe 50), then it found my beloved new papaya clove colony and shaved about half off (arghh...sorry the sauce), had to take a stick and poke him away and move them...but that is the only downside in 3 yrs...center ball body is about 3" outer spikes extent to 10"+...be careful with some fish with vision problems they can accidently run into the spikes...even some of my fish had to learn the hard way, but only did it once. On the other hand a few even smarter fish love to swim inbetween the spikes...cling fish make a great urchin accessory...oh, and it seems every time I put my hand in the tank to do something it likes to be right in the middle of where I want to go...lol...I taped a few chop sticks together and I barely tap a few of the spines (it doesnt take much coaxing, when spines are touch they move very readily) when I need it to move where I need to work (which is not that often)...watch those spines, they hurt...I love having the urchin in my tank, amazing species to watch especially when its up on the front glass to see the underside....Fire urchin are absolutely beautiful, but the spine are 2x if not more poisonous...blue tuxedos usually eat more coraline an other algae than tanks can provide so you will need to provide extra nori for it consistantly... hope this helps

 

[Imbarrie]

Anyone stick themselves from a long spine in their tank? They look cool but, like lion fish, what is the probability of pain?


Sent from my iPhone using Reefs

 

[e.muehlbauer]

I would avoid longspine urchins in a tank...those spines get very long, and hurt if you're stuck. (I don't think that they're poisonous, but they could lead to infection). On the other hand, blue tuxedo's are beautiful and very hardy. I've had mine for several years. It doesn't bulldoze, doesn't eat coralline, doesn't seem to impact on anything. It must eat...its always grazing, and keeps on living, but shows no impact on either caulerpa, algae, or coralline. I wouldn't get one for clean-up, but its definitely worth having for its appearance.

 

[ryangrieder]

i agree

 

[cmor1701d]

Saw mine again on Wednesday for the first time in months. It's myabe 50% larger than I first got it a few years ago. It's usually behind the rocks somewhere. I forget it's there when I reach back to grab a frag that fell, but so far have not been stuck by it's spines.

 

[BILBO913]

I HAVE A MULTI COLOR IN MY TANK. ONLY HAD HIM BOUT A MONTH BUT LIKE EVERYONE ELSE DOESNT SEEM TO BOTHER ANY THING. SO NO HARM NO FOWL IN MY EYES. AND IT IS PRETTY ACTIVE

 

[Master Shake]

dont get one its not worth it, they bulldoze, eat coraline algea and can puncture sensative tissue on corals. plus some are poisonous

 

[urchin]

Long spines(Diademas) are fine when they are small,but can grow enormous and develope a taste for things other than algae.They usually grind the coraline off everything in there path.

 

[nycdominicanreef]

what about blue tuxedos, (I'm scared of the long spine)

 

[nycdominicanreef]

bump

 

[ryangrieder]

like a few of us said. i have never seen anything wrong with mine in the past. they dont get big nor have ever touched coraline. everyone is obviously going to have there own opinions but myself and a few others agree the blue tux is a cool adition to the tank. like e.muehlbauer said

I wouldn't get one for clean-up, but its definitely worth having for its appearance.

personally if you like it, go for it! its not a large urchin and very easy to keep. just like alot of other urchins alot of them can dissapear but eventually they show back up.

 

[SWITCH420]

I have a few different 1s.no problems with any yet

 

[DCG1286]

Long spines(Diademas) are fine when they are small,but can grow enormous and develope a taste for things other than algae.They usually grind the coraline off everything in there path.

Really? I have one for quite a while now, and have kept them previously for many years ... never noticed anything like this. The current Urchin is quite large now. He hasn't ripped up any of the frags from the rocks. I definitely have coralline growth all over which he is not interested in (never said he won't develop a taste for it later on, but he does me a favor by keeping the tank clean).

I don't think I am the only one to have success with these creatures. :biggrinpa

 

[fab1971]

I have 3 that hitched with the live rock when I set up my tank last year. They are long spine black and got large fast. They don't knock over anything, as long as it's held down or positioned right. I've seen them eat coraline but this actually helps it spread out to other areas.

 

[DrGonzo]

Anyone stick themselves from a long spine in their tank? They look cool but, like lion fish, what is the probability of pain?

I'm been stung by my long-spined urchin. It feels like a bad splinter.