Are urchins good idea?

[pech29]

I've had a few, never saw them munch coralline. They would always move around my frags though. Just make sure to glue them down and you should be fine, otherwise they always did a good job in my tank.

 

[Nano Chris]

I have a short spine urchin and i think that it adds a nice addition to the tank, i see it all the time, its fascinating to watch. Look at the good thing by it eating the coraline and alge it also helps spread it. I wouldn't get a long spine urchin if its a small tank because they get big though.

 

[68551]

I thought about getting a tuxedo urchin...I have a black sand mopping cucumber & sponges...Would it bother either of those??? I'm a little concerned with spines & a touchy cucumber...Also I really like my sponges....

 

[68551]

>>>

 

[68551]

Anyone????

 

[ScubaDiver93]

If spines are your concern then I doubt a long spine is what you want. Mine got to be about the size of a basketball. It bothered nothing and it was actually kinda cool watching my bangaii find shelter in the spines. Overall I think a tuxedo is your best bet. The cucumber and sponges shouldn't be a problem at all.

 

[bencouchman]

I had a diadema urchin and he would eat my purple coraline and not only that i caught him many times munching on my zoanthids and mushrooms and a few other corals.. he was awsome and i loved him to death so i never wanted to get rid of him but once he realized he liked eating the stuff he did it non-stop so i got rid of him. since then nothing has been "disappearing" haha but then again this was the only urchin i have had and the others might not do the same thing

 

[68551]

I am only considering a Tuxedo Urchin so I am hoping to hear from other tuxedo owners who have sponges or Sand sifting cucumbers in their tanks....Any problems with compatibility with sponges or cukes???

 

[noahm]

No, it will not bother them. The spines are very sensitive to touch/contact and will fold out of the way of pretty much anything, so it won't 'poke' the cuke or anything. I have 3 or 4 cukes and never had my pincushion bother any of them. The tentacles that they walk with, I think are pretty useful sensory organs as well so they know whether they are touching important/living things ( I think they truly like to decorate themselves with nice things). I had two meet up one night and it was a crazy thing to watch all the tentacle communication going on.

 

[68551]

Are urchins sensitive to nitrates???

 

[Dadekster]

From what I have read almost all inverts are touchy when it comes to nitrates. I have a tuxedo and he stays on my back wall eating coraline and whatever else is growing back there. He has never come close to my black cucumber altho I have seen the cucumber climing up the sides every now and then. But they don't seem to bother one another at all. I also have a tigertail and he's a non factor as well.

 

[Grandreef 2]

Whenever you have a cucumber you are always going to run into the possibility of toxins in your aquarium.