Question on Sea Urchins in SPS Tank

Patrick Cox · Mar 23, 2016

Hello,
I recently started an SPS tank and I used Tampa Bay Saltwater Live Rock. I have discovered that I have two small Black Sea Urchins in the tank. My question is, I know these will get fairly large. So do I need to worry about them knocking my SPS frags over with the long spines? Any other concerns?

Thanks!

GrandLotus · Mar 23, 2016

What size tank do you have?

Patrick Cox · Mar 23, 2016

GrandLotus said:
What size tank do you have?

48" X 24" X 20". Roughly 100G. Thx

leemosh · Mar 23, 2016

Are they the long spine type? I used live rock from TBSW and had a white short spined one in my tank. I thought it was cool. Now I strongly dislike him. He cruises around the tank and picks things up and knocks everything over. Sometimes I'll come home and find frags just missing. I'll find them later dropped behind the rocks somewhere generally inaccessible, sometimes upside down and dead in the sand.

It's cool from a biodiversity standpoint, and I wouldn't kill him, but I kind of wish he wasn't there from the start. Yours might be a bit different if they're the long spined black ones, though.

Patrick Cox · Mar 23, 2016

leemosh said:
Are they the long spine type? I used live rock from TBSW and had a white short spined one in my tank. I thought it was cool. Now I strongly dislike him. He cruises around the tank and picks things up and knocks everything over. Sometimes I'll come home and find frags just missing. I'll find them later dropped behind the rocks somewhere generally inaccessible, sometimes upside down and dead in the sand.

It's cool from a biodiversity standpoint, and I wouldn't kill him, but I kind of wish he wasn't there from the start. Yours might be a bit different if they're the long spined black ones, though.

Yes, mine are both black. I assume long spine. They are both fairly small. If I don't keep him I will give to LFS. Here is a picture. This is the larger one and I can tell it is growing...

luke33 · Mar 23, 2016

Although they are great algae munchers they are also bulldozers when it comes to corals. I would like to have one but will never do so because of that reason.

That guy looks pretty cool, can he be a sump urchin?

aabjones888 · Mar 23, 2016

Urchins are a neat thing to watch. Make sure the ones u got are reef safe ones.

Jlobes · Mar 23, 2016

urchin are cool and i like the diversity in the tank, but the are buylldozers and will knock lots of things around and down. Also, I have seen them munching on sps and will not house one anymore....lol

Patrick Cox · Mar 23, 2016

Jlobes said:
urchin are cool and i like the diversity in the tank, but the are buylldozers and will knock lots of things around and down. Also, I have seen them munching on sps and will not house one anymore....lol

I guess that settles it. I will put too much into my SPS colonies to have an Urchin bulldoze them! Thanks.

smh254 · Mar 23, 2016

I have one in my tank that is full of SPS. I've never had a problem with it. My turbo snails do more destruction. They will eat all your Coralline alga off your rocks.

ou12004 · Mar 23, 2016

I have 2 in mine both pretty small and they will occasionally pick something up, but no algae in the display is well worth reglueing down a frag every now then. Plus my star fish does more damage than an urchin ever could.