Experiences with Purple Short Spine Pincushion Urchin

[Trenton Henderson]

What are your experiences with the Purple Short Spine Pincushion Urchin? LiveAquaria lists them as reed safe with caution. I’ve had one for months now (about 2.5-3” diameter) and it has only eaten the usual (every algae it wants including some coralline). It hasn’t touched any corals (though I don’t have many). Could it be that the only major concern with its reef compatibility is when algae is scarce?

 

[IKD]

What are your experiences with the Purple Short Spine Pincushion Urchin? LiveAquaria lists them as reed safe with caution. I’ve had one for months now (about 2.5-3” diameter) and it has only eaten the usual (every algae it wants including some coralline). It hasn’t touched any corals (though I don’t have many). Could it be that the only major concern with its reef compatibility is when algae is scarce?

I have not had issues with them harming any corals in the past, but I don’t have them now because I got sick of constantly pulling frags from them while they played dress-up

 

[Trenton Henderson]

I have not had issues with them harming any corals in the past, but I don’t have them now because I got sick of constantly pulling frags from them while they played dress-up

Did they pull them off frag racks?

 

[IKD]

Did they pull them off frag racks?

Anything they could reach to be honest. I can’t be mad at them, that’s what they do naturally, but even frags I thought I glued pretty well would still be getting a cruise around the tank within a week LOL Great cleanup crew though.

 

[Timfish]

They are excellent herbivores and the only issue I've had with them is picking stuff up and walking off with it. Urchins are reaaly essential for helping maintain healthy reefs. The decline of Caribbean reefs can be tied to the urchin dieoff in '83 and urchins have been used to remdiate reefs overgrown with algae (1) (2). The one issue I've run into is having too many for the amount of available algae so for tanks under 50 gallons I'll only have one. In really small tanks it might be advisable to feed them if it doesn't look like there's enough algae.

Just FYI, the Caribbean or Atlantic Pink Short SPine Urchin, Lytechinus variegatus, comes in a range of colors from almost white to green to dark pink. The bright pinkish purple urchin from the Pacific coast is a very different COLD wate rspecies and will not survive in the warm waters of a reef system.