Volunteer Urchins Black Long Spined

[919]

When I purchased live rock, I had four urchins come as hitchikers. They where small at first nearly invisable now several months later they are about pool table ball sized. In a 55 gal are four going to be too much should I offer two or three to the LFS?

[Lawnsharks]

Id like to know this also, and are they reef safe?

[Alaskan Reefer]

1 is going to be too much eventually -- they get as large as basketballs. They're reef safe, and eat a variety of algae including coraline. Be very careful when handling them or any time you have your hands in the tank, the spines are VERY painful.

[seafansar]

They will eat SPS. Dunno how much they usually go for, but they do get huge!

[EleganceMan]

i have two that are huge and they dont eat any corals but do move them around if small enough.

[ludnix]

I've had a one almost to the size of a volleyball and it started eating the base on some my SPS corals.

[redfishsc]

Trade them all in for a tuxedo urchin. They don't get all that big and have the neat habit of carrying around little pieces of rubble and sometimes even zoanthid and clove polyps (if you have any in the tank).

Even then you may have to occasionally feed the tux some greens, but will do you well to eat up excess algae.

[919]

What the best way to go about trading something in? Do I just show us the items in a bucket?

[aquaman67]

Call first and ask if they even want them.

If you want to feed them get some nori (seaweed for sushi) at walmart in the asian food section. Use a magnet to hold it to the side of the aquarium. It's cool to watch them eat.

[919]

Should I ask for a credit, or should I just be happy that they take them for free. If I ask for a credit how much?

[dr.darkness]

Ask for credit, I do anything to offset the cost of this hobby as long as it's not illegal or shifty.