pencil urchin

RT75 · Sep 5, 2020

Hi everyone, im looking for some advice. I've got a 120 litre tank with 3 red legged hermits, 5 blue legged hermits, and 2 bumblebee snails, 1 grammar, 1 blue damsel, 1 goby and a sailfin tang. Ive recently added a GSP, Now in the sump ive got a pencil urchin cleaning all the live rock and any debris. Ive started to get quite a bit of hair algea in the main tank and was wondering if i can or should I put the pencil urchin in the main tank, i know he'll eat all the algea but will he eat the GSP and will he be compatible with the fish i have in there, did a water check yesterday and the nitrates are a touch high but I'm due a water change today anyway so hopefully that'll sort that

IKD · Sep 5, 2020

RT75 said:
Hi everyone, im looking for some advice. I've got a 120 litre tank with 3 red legged hermits, 5 blue legged hermits, and 2 bumblebee snails, 1 grammar, 1 blue damsel, 1 goby and a sailfin tang. Ive recently added a GSP, Now in the sump ive got a pencil urchin cleaning all the live rock and any debris. Ive started to get quite a bit of hair algea in the main tank and was wondering if i can or should I put the pencil urchin in the main tank, i know he'll eat all the algea but will he eat the GSP and will he be compatible with the fish i have in there, did a water check yesterday and the nitrates are a touch high but I'm due a water change today anyway so hopefully that'll sort that

I just inherited three of them with a live rock purchase and did similar research. I don’t have first hand experience, but sounds like they are omnivores and will eat whatever they fancy, including algae and corals. I’m going to leave mine in my sump personally and not risk my future corals.

That said, they aren’t breaking any speed records and should be easy to catch when they aren’t burrowed into a hole (where they wouldn’t be bothering a coral anyway). So it probably wouldn’t be an issue to put him in the display and remove him if he causes trouble.

should be no issue with fish if you have hermits living there safely.

Just my thoughts.

RT75 · Sep 5, 2020

Thats exactly what i was thinking, i don't want to lose the coral and they are not the quickest so might be able to stop him from eating it just in case he decided to.

najer · Sep 5, 2020

I only have tuxedos but I would try it.

dwest · Sep 5, 2020

I had 2 of them that came in on liverock. One ate everything in his path including corals. He’s gone now. The other has been a model citizen, eating lots of algae and never eating coral. I keep an eye on him but so far he’s a keeper. I’ve had him now for about 3 years.

Jon Fishman · Sep 5, 2020

This guy has yet to touch my GSP or anything else coral-wise from what I can tell

IKD · Sep 5, 2020

Jon Fishman said:
This guy has yet to touch my GSP or anything else coral-wise from what I can tell

That’s a long spine black urchin right? Agree they are Reef safe but can knock things over on occasion.

Jon Fishman · Sep 5, 2020

IKD said:
That’s a long spine black urchin right? Agree they are Reef safe but can knock things over on occasion.

Thought it was a pencil. Sorry..... I think that’s what the shop said it was.

I have a white (?) and a Halloween also. I like urchins

RT75 · Sep 8, 2020

Yeah thats not a pencil mate. I spoke to my local fish shop and he advised against putting him in just in case and he'll eat all coralinne algae so he remains in the sump, what he did loan me though was a seahare which at the moment seems to be doing a great job. Would any of you have any suggestions as to why in the last few days I've lost, and I mean lost as in disappeared off the face of the earth my sailfin tang, he clearly died of something and been eaten but also this morning my son noticed my Christmas gobie had nearly all his face bitten off, what would have done this as they were all quite happy before i bought my GSP, and seahare, tonight ill check my water level but they would have changed due to things dieing, any suggestions would be appreciated