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View Full Version : Sea Urchin in Kuda tank? (3" dark brown)


chrisbenavides
07/29/2006, 09:42 AM
I have an urchin I cannot yet fully ID.

He looks somewhat like the Pincushion Urchin found here: http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/....cfm?pCatId=593 except its not.

The LFS guy showed me a book and the book read it would only grow to 3". The color is dark brown with pinkish tips. and looks more like this except for his color:

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/563/115578mini-Algae.jpg

[b]Generally, are these urchins reef safe? Are they good at eating algae in the tank? Besides the reef tank are they generally safe with my Kuda in my seahorse tank? I was wondering if I can't have him in the reef tank, can I have him in the seahorse tank.

I'll post pics ASAP.

ReefNutPA
07/29/2006, 10:02 PM
Hi Chris,

I would assume that, like other urchins, the spines of this urchin are also venomous. With that in mind, I personally wouldn't try it with seahorses whether it would eat algae or not. I hate taking risks...and seahorses tend to try to hitch to everything you don't want them to.

Pencil urchins, while also venomous, don't have sharp spines...so if you're set on an urchin perhaps that would be a choice for you and might be a bit safer. Just a thought.

As I stated though, I've never kept an urchin with seahorses. And the only urchins I've ever kept stripped my LR of most of it's corraline algae within a few short weeks.

Tom

chrisbenavides
07/29/2006, 10:38 PM
Most urchins eat coraline? I'm not which type I have....it looks like the one above.. I tried to take a picture today, but I can't find the little guy....probably hiding in the rocks.....

hydroid
07/29/2006, 11:42 PM
I agree with Tom ... not sh safe.

TamiW
07/31/2006, 09:34 PM
I've kept seahorses with an urchin once. It never was a problem other than rock work rearranging. However, I would be afraid that the urchin COULD try to crawl on the seahorse and eat natural algae growing there, also scraping the seahorses skin. Considering what I've seen them do to rock, that would ba bad. I even had the seahorses drag their tails across it without incident. However, I still don't know if I'd ever try it again.

What I will say is never ever every keep a pencil urchin with a seahorse. As a carnavore, it would most certainly attempt to eat your seahorse. Even if it was too slow to succeed, it could do some serious damage.