Sea urchin identification and care

[HAAAAAAAA]

I caught a sea urchin at a low tide and since they were rare here and my first time seeing one i grabbed him home and now here I am questioning my decision on wheather I can care for him or not, tanks 210g I have a tessalata in there aswell as some yellow tail damsels and a lunar wrasse which I am trying to get out, I added the urchin and Upon instant he was really active and already started moving around, i wanted to know what species he was and what those white tentacles moving around besides his thorns were

 

[SnazzyUrchin792]

The white tentacles are called tube feet, and are used to move and to grab on to things.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

i wanted to know what species he was and what those white tentacles moving around besides his thorns were

The tentacles are the urchin's tube feet - that's how the urchin moves around.

Urchins are tough to ID, and I haven't looked into them too much yet, but my guess (assuming the "thorns"/spines are not purple in color) would be either Temnopleurus toreumaticus (I can't find enough pics to compare with, but T. decipiens may be a possibility too) or Pseudoboletia indiana. If they're purple, then I'd throw in Salmacis virgulata as well.

To my knowledge, Temnopleurus species are carnivorous (they've been cultured on mussels, clams, and oysters), Salmacis species are primarily herbivores (see the quote below), and Pseudoboletia should be fairly similar to Salmacis species dietarily.

Yeah, definitely a Salmacis species - I'm not sure which one, as S. belli, S. bicolor, and S. erythracis all look very similar. I can't find a whole lot about their diets, but S. sphaeroides is noted as being a primarily herbivorous omnivore (it's noted as occasionally eating other urchins - including other Salmacis urchins - sea pens, plants, jellyfish, and algae).* I've heard some species (probably all/most) need lots of calcium, so they may (will) eat coralline algae, or you can sometimes offer them things like cuttlebones to try and prevent them from eating coralline off of your rocks.**

*Sources:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/240821453_Feeding_behavior_of_the_urchin-eating_urchin_Salmacis_sphaeroides

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/030437709390022O

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/are.12128

**Source:

Section: Urchins: Group: Common Urchins: Species: Salmacis belli (Pin Urchin)

Marine Aquarium Library: Common Urchins, Order: Temnopleuroida - Family Temnopleuridae, Salmacis belli

www.saltcorner.com

That said, all of these ID's may be wrong.

 

[HAAAAAAAA]

The tentacles are the urchin's tube feet - that's how the urchin moves around.

Urchins are tough to ID, and I haven't looked into them too much yet, but my guess (assuming the "thorns"/spines are not purple in color) would be either Temnopleurus toreumaticus (I can't find enough pics to compare with, but T. decipiens may be a possibility too) or Pseudoboletia indiana. If they're purple, then I'd throw in Salmacis virgulata as well.

To my knowledge, Temnopleurus species are carnivorous (they've been cultured on mussels, clams, and oysters), Salmacis species are primarily herbivores (see the quote below), and Pseudoboletia should be fairly similar to Salmacis species dietarily.

That said, all of these ID's may be wrong.

Just got him eating a squid, and he climbs onto the glass a lot, i don't have much algae but I do have a little film covering some of the glass so I would consider him omnivorous or just a carnivore, got some nice pictures of him

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Just got him eating a squid, and he climbs onto the glass a lot, i don't have much algae but I do have a little film covering some of the glass so I would consider him omnivorous or just a carnivore, got some nice pictures of him

Yeah, the new pics look more like T. toreumaticus to me, so I'd expect it to be carnivorous and to feed on various bivalves (the clams, mussels, oysters, etc. mentioned above).

 

[Stomatopods17]

Where geographically is he from?

 

[HAAAAAAAA]

Where geographically is he from?

Arabian sea

 

[HAAAAAAAA]

Yeah, the new pics look more like T. toreumaticus to me, so I'd expect it to be carnivorous and to feed on various bivalves (the clams, mussels, oysters, etc. mentioned above).

Though I don't keep clams and those types on hand because my eels don't eat them but would they do alright with the typical squid, shrimp, mackerel? Would it be alright to feed him about 3-4 days?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Though I don't keep clams and those types on hand because my eels don't eat them but would they do alright with the typical squid, shrimp, mackerel? Would it be alright to feed him about 3-4 days?

I'd guess they do alright (maybe not great, but alright) - I could be wrong though.

 

[HAAAAAAAA]

I'd guess they do alright (maybe not great, but alright) - I could be wrong though.

Hope so, I have a eel so I can't be feeding the urchin everyday since the eel also steals his food, but I will try to get him some clams just for him since the eel doesn't eat clams, the eel won't try to steal his food