Urchin Appreciation Thread/Reef Safe Urchins

[JumboShrimp]

(“... and an assist on a lawnmower Blenny.”)

Ahahahaha! :)

 

[davidcalgary29]

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.

I've lost a few tuxedo urchins over the past few months, and I'm not sure why: two have died in my IM40 (which they share with a variegated urchin, which is doing nicely), and one in my RSM250, which had the tank to itself. The only tuxedo that I have had for over six months is a big one in my 13g Evo (now going on eight months). None of my other urchins have died since I began to populate my builds in January.

 

[JumboShrimp]

So what would you all say are the top 3 easy/beginner Urchins?

 

[davidcalgary29]

The tuxedo and variegated urchins are certainly the "easiest" to acclimate (and pick up), and they're visible in the tank throughout the day. Rock burrowing urchins are pretty hardy, but they're nocturnal, so don't add much visual interest to the tank. Longspine urchins: for the daring. Fire urchins: for the brave (or foolhardy). Flower urchins: for the insane.

 

[MamaP]

Here's "Spike," my tux urchin. I've had him a few months now, although he's disappeared recently - hopefully just munching the underside of rocks. The last time he disappeared, he reappeared after a couple weeks, so hopefully he'll reappear this time! I love watching my lil guy!

 

[blaxsun]

Tuxedos seem to be the easiest, but it's sometimes a crapshoot if they take to the acclimation (I only had one new urchin make it out of four).

 

[schooncw]

I have four urchins in my 120. This one is 5 years old and about 5" and eats two sheets of nori every day. 'Uni" has caused it's fair share of issues-moving the return and causing a cascade of water on the floor being the worst.

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

A man of many hats.

 

[SeaMaiden92]

This is my little urchin. I never imagined it would be so entertaining! I love watching him carry different shells around. He changes shells about everyday.

 

[Aquaman11]

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.

I had one of these that I bought under the name of Rainbow Urchin. It was one of the most spectacularly colored animals in my tank. It was a model citizen for about two years but a few days after purchasing a JF Solar Flare Milli,I noticed the urchin on top of the JFSF. One of the branches was gone and a patch of skeleton was exposed. I moved the urchin to another location in the tank and later found it on the JFSF with more tissue and skeleton gone. The coral was down to just a nub and it was a good sized, multi-branched frag when I got it. Since my tank is largely populated with acros, I decided to rehome the urchin at my LFS. I didn't want to take any chances that the urchin would start munching other acros in the tank. BTW, the JFSF healed and I think it will make it.

I think the comparison to a bee sting would be my assessment as well. I always had to know where the urchin was in the tank when I had my hands in there. Just be aware of the possibility of one going rogue on your corals.

 

[Cantusaurus]

I've lost a few tuxedo urchins over the past few months, and I'm not sure why: two have died in my IM40 (which they share with a variegated urchin, which is doing nicely), and one in my RSM250, which had the tank to itself. The only tuxedo that I have had for over six months is a big one in my 13g Evo (now going on eight months). None of my other urchins have died since I began to populate my builds in January.

Hmmm. That is really strange. Did they die after a couple weeks to a month? Or a couple days to a week after adding them?
It could be improper acclimation (I was subject to acclimating certain inverts incorrectly).
Some tanks at stores have their salinity at certain levels, and often temperature and much different levels. I have heard temperature for Urchins is often much more important than salinity (within reason). But if both are done carefully I have had success adding a Rock and Variegated to my tank.
It could also be a lack of food. If there is not enough algae (sometimes the tough algae on rocks is not enough/pretty difficult for tuxedos).
And supplementing them weekly could be necessary.
Also nitrate. If the nitrate is too high they may not do well, but I have no idea what that entails exactly since there is different info everywhere.

 

[Cantusaurus]

So what would you all say are the top 3 easy/beginner Urchins?

Top 3:
The Variegated - If you have a petco near you I would highly recommend checking to see if they have the Pincushion (Variegated) urchin. If you do see some hopefully they are healthy and doing well. I only paid $12 for mine, and there is a 30 day 'warranty' if they die. But after I acclimated mine and added him was moving around like crazy, and flawlessly acclimated to my tank. I have had him for almost a month.
Tuxedo - They are usually pretty easy. You can buy a captive bred one online since stores usually do not seem to carry captive bred ones for some reason. I think they may be more sensitive to higher nitrate, and should be acclimated really well to ensure they do well.
Shortspine/Rock Urchin - If you see one of these in a store I would highly recommend it!! They are super good! They will clean mostly the rocks, and pretty much scrape it down completely. It is insane. They'll also happily munch on any other algae on the rocks, and glass if they come across it. I like this service since they are helping give the rock space for the beneficial bacteria colonize by removing the algae.

 

[DaddyFish]

So what would you all say are the top 3 easy/beginner Urchins?

I recently got turned on to urchins and love them! I have two Halloween urchins, one Pink Pincushion urchin, one Banded Long Spine urchin and one more that I honestly can't remember the species! So far they've all been easy-peasey to acclimate and have been polishing rocks since day-1.

This little dude picked up my ammonia badge a couple weeks ago and refuses to give it up. Now I get ammonia readings from all areas. :D

 

[eggplantparrot]

Here is my halloween urchin.

Pumpkin spice latte urchin

 

[salty joe]

What's the word on pencil urchins?

 

[davidcalgary29]

Hmmm. That is really strange. Did they die after a couple weeks to a month? Or a couple days to a week after adding them?
It could be improper acclimation (I was subject to acclimating certain inverts incorrectly).
Some tanks at stores have their salinity at certain levels, and often temperature and much different levels. I have heard temperature for Urchins is often much more important than salinity (within reason). But if both are done carefully I have had success adding a Rock and Variegated to my tank.
It could also be a lack of food. If there is not enough algae (sometimes the tough algae on rocks is not enough/pretty difficult for tuxedos).
And supplementing them weekly could be necessary.
Also nitrate. If the nitrate is too high they may not do well, but I have no idea what that entails exactly since there is different info everywhere.

Shipping trauma? Improper acclimation? Both are possible, I suppose. I forgot that I have another tuxedo in my RSM250 (rarely seen), which was added at the same time as one of the deceased.

Lack of food? Unlikely given the algaefied state of my tanks :)

Seriously, though, I have plenty of good macro, and surviving urchins in each tank, so probably not.

 

[Ghost25]

What's the word on pencil urchins?

They get absolutely massive. I've seen them in the wild, spines as thick as hot dogs and the whole urchin 12"+ across.

Here's my diadema. Never had issues with him. Hard to photograph his iridiphores, but they look cool.

 

[Jedi1199]

I recently got turned on to urchins and love them! I have two Halloween urchins, one Pink Pincushion urchin, one Banded Long Spine urchin and one more that I honestly can't remember the species! So far they've all been easy-peasey to acclimate and have been polishing rocks since day-1.

This little dude picked up my ammonia badge a couple weeks ago and refuses to give it up. Now I get ammonia readings from all areas. :D

I love that banded one... Now I have to see where I can find one myself.

For what it's worth, I took my oaf of a pencil urchin out and donated him to the LFS this morning.

 

[homer1475]

Love my urchins! They certainly don't get enough credit for being part of a CUC.

I have 2 tuxedo's, and short spine pincushion. They keep my rocks and glass pretty clean. I've tried feeding them nori, but they didn't take to it(it just floated away when they moved).

 

[JumboShrimp]

True or false their ‘beaks’ can scratch the tank’s glass? :(