Reef Safe Sea Urchin?

[Tennyson]

I was just thinking about getting one of these, and was wondering which ones are reef safe. In this case, reef safe is safe with all corals, inverts and fish.

And are these good for controlling hair algae?

Thanks.

 

[jhildebrand]

I have and recommend the diadema (long spines, black) and the tuxedo. Both are in my 260 and have never bothered anyone. The diadema is large now with spines about twelve inches and the only thing he's done is tip small pieces of rock due to his weight. He's a cool specimen and a star of the tank though. The tuxedo's spines stay short and they decorate themselves with pieces of shell and other random things found on the bottom of the tank. They'll graze algae of almost every type, including coraline, and need a lot of rock for their grazing. If you do get one, acclimate it very carefully, as they are sensitive to rapid changes just like sea stars. If they're not happy spines may fall out and this is a good indicator of something wrong or poor acclimation.

Good luck and rock on...

 

[Tennyson]

Thanks for the info! I was considering the tuxedo ones, I think the diadema would get too big, but they are really interesting.

I have a load more questions about the tuxedo which I think I'll end up getting

1. I heard that urchins may eat encrusting species of corals like star polyps, zoanthids etc if they're hungry without food. Is that true?
And that their spines can puncture corals?
2. And will they lower copepod populations as they eat?
3. I have never seen tuxedo urchins around here, are there any similar urchins that I could get instead of tuxedo?

Thanks

 

[jim.l]

Tuxedo's are good algae cleaners, however they also chew up coralline. I never had them eat specimens, however they can be bulldozers to corals and even rock.

 

[Tennyson]

Hmm, I was worried about this, Is it a huge problem?

But will they affect pod populations?
and are pincusion urchins an ok substitute since I never see the tuxedos' around here?

 

[talon4x4]

Aren't tuxedo and pincushion urchins the same thing??

 

[Tennyson]

No, the tuxedo's have those five bands of spines, with the blue in between them, and the pincusions are spiny all over, and their spines are thicker.
I'm not sure if there would be a difference.

bump with my two other Q.
1. will they affect pod populations with their eating habits? Or are they no problem?
2. And if pincusion's are ok besides the tuxedo.

And another question, when they graze, and come near corals, can't their spines puncture squishy corals? I don't see how they can avoid them to the point where they aren't stabbing them.

 

[Tennyson]

Oh wait, your right talon4x4, they CAN be the same thing, but in my case, I'm thinking of two urchins with the same common name.

I'm thinking of the Atlantic Pincusion star-Lytechinus variegatus
-with the thicker spines

and the Tuxedo Urchin-Mespilia globulus

But with either one of these, Will they affect pod populations?
And if their spines can puncture corals/if it has ever happened while they graze
and if either one of these are ok.

sorry for always repeating my Q's. I'm kind of iffy about getting one and want to make sure.

 

[plateboy3293]

I think only the blue tuxedo and long spined urchin are reef safe.

 

[jhildebrand]

They shouldn't impact pod pops. When the diadema moves around his spines move away from objects. he doesn't like ramming them into things. the sides of the spines will rub against a coral, but not the tips. all they do is close up. i have an open brain that's about ten inches across and he has never poked him. when they pass through a narrow area, they'll point all the spines straight up. they have great dexterity with each spine. also cool - they can sense you or a fish that's too close for comfort. if i get too close with my hand it'll "point' all of it's spines at me in defense.

i don't run my calcium super high and haven't noticed a big hit to the coraline. sometimes you can see where a patch got hit by the telltale urchin tooth marks, but it comes back right away. they don't bring the pain to anything in my tank.

 

[Tennyson]

I'm looking into the diadema (long spine) and I'm thinking of getting one of those, they're amazing. They can see right? Don't they have that huge orange eye at the top? Or is that an anal sac?

The reason I want them is for algae control and possibly a zebra crab host. Would a zebra crab host a diadema? I only see it hosting three kinds. Anymore info on zebra crabs and what they might eat?

 

[reef321]

If your trying to get rid of hair algea, try a sea hare.

 

[Tennyson]

No, I actually HAD a sea hare til it died from starvation unfortunately, but it did the job. Now I want an urchin just to keep it under control because Sea Hare's are $30 freacking dollars, any size (including those puny 1" ones)

And I found my answer about the zebra crab, they will host diadema. But any info on them?

 

[jhildebrand]

the big orange "eye" at the top is indeed the butt sac. sometimes mine'll be way up on top of the rock and he'll poop out little white pellets all over the place. i've been told, don't know if this is true, that the little blue dots around the body are sensory organs and that's why it knows what's around it...

 

[jhildebrand]

...talking about the diadema, sorry...

 

[Tennyson]

wow, thats amazing and very cool. I think I'll be getting these. and i found the info on the zebra crab. thanks, ill update on it.

 

[finsurgeon]

The zebra crabs live on urchins and eat their spines. I'd say they prefer astropyga radiata slightly over diadema, but I've had them on both. I had 1 crab live about a year, spending almost all his time on a diadema. I now have 2 zebras, 1 on a radiata and the other back and forth between my 2 diademas. I'd say the ideal ratio is either one to one or my current situation of 2 crabs on 3 urchins. I have a purple rock boring urchin, a pink rainbow, a blue tuxedo, and a purple "impact" urchin as well, but I very seldom see the crabs on any of them, or if so only about a day here or there. I'd like some rotation off of the radiata to give it a break, but the crabs like it a little too much to let that happen. I try to make sure to feed the urchins a piece of nori whenever they are conveniently reachable to help them bear the burden of the crabs, but I am thankful they keep the urchins down to a manageable size for my tank.

 

[Tennyson]

Cool. thanks for the info, It's hard to find on the internet.

Well, I think I'll get a diadema and see how that goes, and then buy a zebra crab from diver's den since thats the only place they have them, next time one shows up.

thanks!

 

[jefft321]

I am thinking of getting an urchin or 2 for my 90 gallon reef. It is packed with corals, and I am not sure how many urchins to get? I have some type of algae that has been growing in there for a long time - it's not hair, it's not slime, it's not feathery, it's like a thick turf, thick blades of grass some almost look purple and some is flourescent green and shiny. I want to get rid of it and my tanks can't seem to devour all of it, and the hermits don't seem to bother with it either.
Thanks for the info....