Check out this urchin

[kashman100]

This urchin picks up everything as it goes around the tank. Right now he has about 4 snails, a rock and a frag plug with mushroom attatched. Lol. It's a purple urchin and has tripled in size in 6 months. Anyone know how large it will get?

 

[dodgerblew]

It's to big when it's hauling around the gyre on its back

 

[Waters]

The first thing I learned after adding an urchin is glue EVERTHING down. I can't tell you how many times I had to rearrange frags after looking at the tank for the first time each morning.

 

[Tahoe61]

I had the same Urchin type pull off my wave maker sending the flow up and out of the tank, just an FYI.

 

[kashman100]

Wow. Do you know how big it gets?

 

[Tahoe61]

It's hard to tell what specific urchin type it is, were did you get it? It looks like a Lytechinus variegatus, compare images and see if that looks close.

Mine got to almost tennis ball size, and that is probably typical.

 

[ahiggins]

WOW! I just put one in my tank last night. A white one with purple spikes-it wasnt a long spine though.
Hes been sticking to the glass but I worry that he may take the frag plugs with him if he gets to them.

 

[Tahoe61]

This urchin in an ORA and commonly available. He did a great job of eating algae but he was so much of a bulldozer that I got rid of him. He would go back to the same frags time and time again, did not matter is the frags were glued down. He once fell in my Haddoni Carpet Anemone and the anemone spit him back out.

 

[kashman100]

Yes I think it is lytechines variegatus. It came in on some TBS live rock along with about 15 other ones black ones. This is the only one that pick this up. I assume it uses the stuff as camouflage. Sounds like I may have to donate it to the lfs because if it gets to the size of a tennis ball it will be a pain.