Urchin Appreciation Thread/Reef Safe Urchins

[Cantusaurus]

I love urchins!! I think they are one of the best CUC members, and are a really cool looking invert!
I'd like to star this Urchin thread for everyone to talk about the experiences they've had with urchins.
My goal is also to educate people who want an urchin or are researching CUC since they want to learn more.

Pictures, experiences, care tips, and just overall info are welcome and encouraged

Reef Safe Urchins
All of the following are reef safe EXCEPT FOR ONE.
They're reef safe BUT they may either knock over corals accidentally or pick up small loose coral frags as a hat


Tuxedo Urchins

Who doesn't love these little guys? They do not get too big, and are super cool looking! Definitely reef safe, but will grab stuff and wear it. They will consume all algae types, and are very hardy. They're also aquacultured! Probably the best Urchin for a nano tank.
Max Size: Around 3"

Pincushion Urchins
DISCLAIMER**** There are MANY types of Pincushion Urchins. There are many names and subspecies associated with them.
Some are reef safe and some are not. They also have different colors.
I will list a couple here. One in particular I highly recommend.

Blue/Purple Short Spine Pincushion

These are reef safe with caution.
I would not recommend these in a reef.
There are many people who have confirmed that they ate some Zoas and other corals.
Maybe these guys only eat certain corals, but more research should be done.
However, these Urchins are probably one of the prettiest Urchins. They look really cool in person especially!
Max Size: Around 4"


Variegated Pincushion

There are many different color morphs with this urchin. They should all be reef safe.

There is conflicting info as to the Max Size of the Urchin. I believe the differences color varieties and sizes listed has to do with the different parts of the world the urchins come from, and them being slightly different.
However, the captive bred ones should stay a bit smaller and may get around 3 - 4 ish inches.

These Urchins are really cool. They have little ROE looking spheres on their body.
Great algae muncher, and a GREAT second choice if the Tuxedo is not an option.

I would check a local Petco. I went to Petco recently and they got a shipment, and there were around 15 of these Urchins scattered throughout their tanks. None were dead, and they all looked super healthy, and some were pretty small.
Also they were only $11.99!! Which is an amazing price for a Captive Bred Urchin!!

Shortspine/Rock Burrowing Urchin/Rock Urchin

These guys do not have short spines. So strange name. BUT they do live up to the Rock name.
THESE ARE THE MOST UNDERRATED!!!
They are cheap too!! Around 8-14 bucks!
These guys will seriously CLEAN your rock. They will scrape all the algae off better than any other invert. They will eat pretty much any type of algae on the rocks.
Best part is that they are completely reef safe!!!!
They won't pick up anything, but they will knock frags and rubble pieces over, but most of the time it's to get to the algae underneath. Lol.

Max Size: 3 - 4 Inches

Longspine Urchin

The Longspine Urchin is surprisingly also reef safe, but I do not know too much about them except that they get HUGE, and tend to knock things over a lot.
I also know they will host baby Bangaiis!!! So cute!!!

(Courtesy of Reef Magazine)

 

[Sleeping Giant]

 

[Cory]

They are definitely mother natures lawn mowers! Reefs wouldn't survive without them as algae would take over (scientific fact)

 

[Cantusaurus]

This is my Pincushion I got from petco!

This is my Shortspine/rock urchin!

 

[davidcalgary29]

Don’t forget these beauties!

 

[Cantusaurus]

Don’t forget these beauties!

Ohhh! Yeah I’ve seen these recently. I know almost nothing about them, but if you could give brief description on it that’d be great!
They’re super pretty tho!!

 

[davidcalgary29]

Ohhh! Yeah I’ve seen these recently. I know almost nothing about them, but if you could give brief description on it that’d be great!
They’re super pretty tho!!

That's a fire urchin. The picture really doesn't do it justice, but I took it just as the lights were coming on. They're "reef safe with caution", with the "caution" extending solely to their handler: these urchins are venomous, with a sting that's apparently comparable to that of a bee. I'm not about to test the Schmidt Pain Index for science, though, so I'll just have to give anecdotal information here.

They are algae eaters and leave coral alone. I've noted, however, that they are also detrivores, and will eat leftover food and the occasional invert corpse.

 

[Cantusaurus]

That's a fire urchin. The picture really doesn't do it justice, but I took it just as the lights were coming on. They're "reef safe with caution", with the "caution" extending solely to their handler: these urchins are venomous, with a sting that's apparently comparable to that of a bee. I'm not about to test the Schmidt Pain Index for science, though, so I'll just have to give anecdotal information here.

They are algae eaters and leave coral alone. I've noted, however, that they are also detrivores, and will eat leftover food and the occasional invert corpse.

Thank you for your input! Yeah I saw one of these for sale, and they are just spectacular in person. That's sweet they are reef safe though, and hmm yeah the venomous thing kinda sucks.
Yeah some urchins are better than others at being detritovores. I think all of them will sorta be to some extent, but some do not go out of their way to do those functions and will only do that if they are really close to wear something died or something (I could be completely wrong though). But that's good these function as a good detritivore

It's super cool that urchins all have unique characteristics, and kinda clean a bit differently than each other.

 

[X-37B]

Here is my halloween urchin.

 

[Cantusaurus]

Here is my halloween urchin.

Are these and pencil urchins reef safe? I've heard conflicting things.

 

[X-37B]

Mi

Are these and pencil urchins reef safe? I've heard conflicting things.

Mine eats coralline mostly. I have had it for 2 years in this system.

 

[Rich Klein]

I have about 12 Pincushion Urchins in my 180 G tank. They do a great job with all kinds of algae, and entertain us with the things they like to carry around

 

[Garf]

I’ve got a rock urchin, he’s an algae terminator. He also moves a 2 kilo rock on a barebottom tank, but I forgive him

 

[Jedi1199]

If I may hijack this thread a little, I have a pencil urchin in my 55.. Besides being a clumsy oaf and knocking frags over daily, I wonder if he ate one of my Nems. Has anyone ever had an urchin eat a Nem?

Last time I recall seeing the missing one, the urchin was right next to it. I haven't seen it since. It's not in either of the canister filters (where I found the last missing nem) and nowhere in the tank at all.

 

[reefruss]

I know I've posted this photo before. Sadly they have become quite expensive as of late.

 

[JumboShrimp]

I know nothing about Urchins, so... 1) Roughly how long will they live (on average) after being bought at a LFS, 2) when they die, do their ‘spines’ go all over the tank?

 

[Cantusaurus]

If I may hijack this thread a little, I have a pencil urchin in my 55.. Besides being a clumsy oaf and knocking frags over daily, I wonder if he ate one of my Nems. Has anyone ever had an urchin eat a Nem?

Last time I recall seeing the missing one, the urchin was right next to it. I haven't seen it since. It's not in either of the canister filters (where I found the last missing nem) and nowhere in the tank at all.

Hmm interesting. I have heard they are not 100 percent reef safe, but I honestly have no idea. That sucks though if he did in fact eat the nem. Hopefully someone can chime in and give some more info.

 

[Cantusaurus]

I know nothing about Urchins, so... 1) Roughly how long will they live (on average) after being bought at a LFS, 2) when they die, do their ‘spines’ go all over the tank?

Urchins live around 3-5 years I believe. It depends though, captive bred species may live longer, and it depends how big they are when received. But with most inverts they can definitely live longer then expected at times.
In regards to the spines they really shouldn't go all over the tank. The spines will sink, and most likely be mostly in the location it died. The urchins we keep mostly have spines that are not crazy sharp, and are not venomous.
Honestly I would not worry much about the spines. They'll decompose, or you can pick them out of the tank by hand or with tweezers.

 

[Cantusaurus]

I know I've posted this photo before. Sadly they have become quite expensive as of late.

Are you saying the Tuxedos have become more expensive lately? (If so you're definitely right).

 

[blaxsun]

Fire urchins apparently sting quite a bit more than a bee sting (not something I personally chose to put to the test).

Don't forget green urchins. I had an awesome green urchin that we called "Godzilla". He would lift (not just move) rocks. If you dropped SeaVeggies in the tank he would scurry across the tank in no time flat to either park on it or drag it off. He also did not play nicely with others, and at the time of his untimely death he'd racked up a kill count of: 1 horseshoe crab, 2 blue leg hermit crabs, 4 various snails, several zoas and an assist on a lawnmower blenny.