Tuxedo urchin

[t1a1c1h]

So we bought a tuxedo urchin having read online that it would 'mow through' our gha problem. But it doesn't. All it eats is the coralline growing on the glass. While this is handy as it's really hard to scrape off it's not what we need from our critters at the minute! Do they eat different things at different life stages? Or when they're from a different part of the world? Are there similar looking gha munching urchins that people are confusing with tuxedos?? And is there any way to encourage it to eat the gha???

 

[ZachsZoo]

Can't force it to eat hair algae, but there are clean up crews that will destroy it. Try getting a lawnmower blenny, trochus snails, or brittle star, that should do the trick.

 

[CarrieB]

Mine eats hair algae. I don't have a lot of coralline though. Also, they aren't very smart. He will eat one patch and leave the patch next to it and wander away. Or go back to a spot he's already cleaned off. Maybe try "showing" him a good spot for grazing?


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[gmlee]

I had some hair algae awhile back and the tank was looking pretty crappy to the point of giving up on it. I added a tuxedo and some more snails and now I'm worried the rock is too clean. Not sure what my tuxedo ate but I do have a lot of coralline. I think my best purchase for the hair algae was putting a few zebra turbo snails in.

 

[ncaldwell]

Or a sea hair

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[Ron Reefman]

I recently picked up a decorator crab at the beach to put in my 'local' tank. But I have a mild green hair algae issue in mt display refugium because I have problems keeping a tang in the tank. A. The tank is only 50g and B. There is a red reef lobster in the tank. The decorator crab has been ripping the hair algae loose with his claws and eating it like crazy.

 

[matthemmings]

My experience with tuxedos is that they will mow through any algae on a hard surface (including a snails shell) but are very reluctant to spend much time on substrate. They also seem to really go for corraline.

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[iced98lx]

I have 3 Tuxedo's. Anything on a relatively flat [hard] surface algae wise will be gone as soon as they get to it. I keep my glass clean and they stay off it as a result focusing on the rockwork. The tops of my rocks are hoovered 100% clean of any sort of GHA or corraline. The areas that are not flat are harder for them to get to and may not get mowed as frequently or thoroughly.