Sea urchin questions (yet again)

[katsreef]

Thinking of buying an urchin on Sunday - either pin cushion or blue tuxedo. I have a few questions:

1. my tank is pretty clean (minimal algae growth in one area + the wavemaker and return nozzle - pics below) so I am planning on buying two little fishes seaweed to supplement. How often/much should I feed it? Can you tell when they are hungry?

2. all my corals are glued down except the open brain which is on the sand bed. I’m assuming it is too big but is it safe from being picked up?

3. My rocks are stacked and not glued. My big turbo snail has been on every rock and so far none of toppled. Do you think that means the urchin can’t topple them?

4. I saw one forum post about someone’s urchin eating spirobid worms but haven’t seen any further info. That would be cool if that was true because clearly I have a few lol. Anyone have experience with their’s eating them?

 

[sfin52]

How big is the tank. They are algea/ coraline eating machines. I would start with just one. I would also suggest you take a look at the rock boring urchins. They are less likely to pick things up and carry them off.

 

[katsreef]

How big is the tank. They are algea/ coraline eating machines. I would start with just one. I would also suggest you take a look at the rock boring urchins. They are less likely to pick things up and carry them off.

It is a 20g and I was planning on just getting one anyways! I don’t have much algae so I would supplement regardless. I just like the pincushions and blue tux the best, i have destructive taste I guess lol

 

[Bucs20fan]

The urchin will be fine, just feed some nori every now and again. Glued or not, they can pick up frags, cyanoacrylate doenst hold that well against force, everyone knows that. But its a hazard of having urchins. I have 2 pincushions and one tuxedo. Love em.

 

[katsreef]

The urchin will be fine, just feed some nori every now and again. Glued or not, they can pick up frags, cyanoacrylate doenst hold that well against force, everyone knows that. But its a hazard of having urchins. I have 2 pincushions and one tuxedo. Love em.

So what happens when they pick them up? Are the corals usually okay after that, just a pain having to reglue? Also do you think an urchin would topple the rocks?

 

[RedoubtReef]

Tuxedo's are great. If it's glued down, the urchin won't pull it loose. A tuxedo is also unlikely to topple your rock.

 

[Bucs20fan]

So what happens when they pick them up? Are the corals usually okay after that, just a pain having to reglue? Also do you think an urchin would topple the rocks?

Just pull it off of them, no biggie, the only time harm usually comes is if they drop them face down.

 

[katsreef]

Tuxedo's are great. If it's glued down, the urchin won't pull it loose. A tuxedo is also unlikely to topple your rock.

Thank you! I’m going to try to get some little hats 3d printed to hopefully minimize the chance of pulling corals lol

 

[Mhamilton0911]

I have 2 tuxedo urchins and they annihilate algea. I have one in a nano I started with dry rock so there was a lot of uglies prior to adding it. Yes they'll pick up things, mine likes to wear xenia. I found that one they camouflage themselves well, they'll usually leave other stuff alone. Not glued frags will be hats. And if you're not quick to remove the frags or pick them back up once dropped you could lose some corals, but I find my other cuc knocks over more than the urchin does.

If it were me, I'd wait until there was more algea for grazing prior to adding one so you know it's well fed.

Added A pic, this rock structure was covered in ugly before the urchin and the little guy keeps it in check now.

 

[Jaag]

How do you feed the urchin the nori?

 

[kevgib67]

I have a tuxedo urchin, love it and is quite the algae eater! It tended to pick up frags when I first got it ( glued down) but it has been a long time. I just pick them off and glue them down. Never lost a coral. When algae is low I take a piece of nori and rubber band it to a small rock, when it’s gone I just pull the rock and return it to the back chamber.

 

[katsreef]

I have 2 tuxedo urchins and they annihilate algea. I have one in a nano I started with dry rock so there was a lot of uglies prior to adding it. Yes they'll pick up things, mine likes to wear xenia. I found that one they camouflage themselves well, they'll usually leave other stuff alone. Not glued frags will be hats. And if you're not quick to remove the frags or pick them back up once dropped you could lose some corals, but I find my other cuc knocks over more than the urchin does.

If it were me, I'd wait until there was more algea for grazing prior to adding one so you know it's well fed.

Added A pic, this rock structure was covered in ugly before the urchin and the little guy keeps it in check now.

If I end up getting one I’ll be sure to leave stuff out for it to camouflage that are not my corals haha. I had a bit of an ugly phase in my tank a month ago but now it seems to have died down

 

[katsreef]

How do you feed the urchin the nori?

Rubber band to a rock or I read you can also hold pieces out for it to grab with tweezers or things like that

 

[katsreef]

I have a tuxedo urchin, love it and is quite the algae eater! It tended to pick up frags when I first got it ( glued down) but it has been a long time. I just pick them off and glue them down. Never lost a coral. When algae is low I take a piece of nori and rubber band it to a small rock, when it’s gone I just pull the rock and return it to the back chamber.

Maybe I’ll place a few shells on it right away in hopes that it leaves my corals alone lol. Thank you for the rubber band to rock idea! I was worried about not having enough algae but this makes me feel like it will work in my tank

 

[Jaag]

Great ideas. Thanks for helping me out.

 

[Jaag]

My urchin grabbed my mangrove and have been carrying it around.

 

[katsreef]

My urchin grabbed my mangrove and have been carrying it around.

They seem to be pretty funny creatures. I'll try my hand at them and see if I can keep up with the bulldozing lol

 

[Freshy]

I have a pincushion urchin in my 40G tank. It is way too big and a bit of a bulldozer, but my wife loves it. She keeps small pieces of nori cut up (about 1 inch square). Whenever she sees the urchin near the surface, she will take one of those pieces, dip it in the water a bit to soften it up, and then she will hold it against the glass near the urchin until she sees the spines (or whatever they are called) grab onto it and start pulling it towards its mouth. This usually happens a couple times a week.

 

[katsreef]

I have a pincushion urchin in my 40G tank. It is way too big and a bit of a bulldozer, but my wife loves it. She keeps small pieces of nori cut up (about 1 inch square). Whenever she sees the urchin near the surface, she will take one of those pieces, dip it in the water a bit to soften it up, and then she will hold it against the glass near the urchin until she sees the spines (or whatever they are called) grab onto it and start pulling it towards its mouth. This usually happens a couple times a week.

Thank you for the food size suggestion and frequency! I’ll be using this as a template. I’ll try to pick out a small one so it has plenty of time to grow