Sea Urchin help

[jinsun2000]

Got this sea urchin from a LFS 3 Weeks ago. Caught him attacking my bubble tip. Is it known to be reef safe? Should I get rid of him?

 

[malacoda]

I've never heard of urchins attacking anemones. More likely it was just searching for algae to feed on near the anemone and the anemone ended up getting poked by the spines.

Urchins are like bulldozers. They're so focused and intent on getting into nooks and crannies to search for food that they push against and knock over, or potentially upset or irritate things in their way.

 

[bradyrollie4]

Got this sea urchin from a LFS 3 Weeks ago. Caught him attacking my bubble tip. Is it known to be reef safe? Should I get rid of him?

My anem did the same thing! First 5 min in tank. My poor bubble tip… my clown is freaking out cuz of it.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

That sea urchin is Astropyga radiata, known as the Red/Fire/False Fire/Rainbow Fire/Blue-spotted Urchin - it's known to eat algae and small inverts (so probably like pods and tiny shrimp); I wouldn't expect it to eat or attempt to eat an anemone.

 

[Mr_Knightley]

I find it humorous when people 'revive' old threads semi-related to their current problem instead of making a new one to ask a more personalized question...