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Unread 02/14/2018, 10:05 PM   #1
jay415
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No clue what this is, Anyone?

I just noticed this on the rock that my torch coral came in on. Anyone have a clue? It’s about a 1/4”
Whatever it is, it did move when the lights were off and I shined a flashlight on it. It moved about a 1/2” inch back into the hole it was sitting in originally.





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Unread 02/14/2018, 10:28 PM   #2
jay415
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I was able to catch it moving again.
https://youtu.be/FvNJZ3b3lT8


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Unread 02/14/2018, 11:36 PM   #3
frey
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Urchin?


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Unread 02/15/2018, 06:47 AM   #4
jay415
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Any idea what kind? Or if it’s good/bad? I’ve been searching pics and can’t find one that looks like this one.


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Unread 02/15/2018, 09:51 AM   #5
mhaze
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I do not know much but I will try to help...

My guess is some sort of a young pencil urchin, based on the pattern and shape of the spines? It's so tiny at this point that it's hard to tell for sure. Any idea of the ocean of origin?

I tend to go with innocent until proven guilty (especially with tiny things) because I love biodiversity, but I would watch it for sure with stony corals, especially things like montis. I had one a bit like it 15 years ago that got big and started boring into my rock so I took it to the LFS for trade in. It did not bother the corals much, but did make a bit of a mess when it got big. It would disappear for months at a time and come out of rockwork much larger.

I have a different species now that has grown crazy fast but is completely benign and does not leave a 6" diameter area. It eats coralline but it regrows so quickly that it does not even seem to affect the coralline population. It has stayed far away from corals, but I'm watching it closely. It is an Atlantic species with narrow spines.

Some people will buy urchins to graze algae and house cardinal fish, but some people distrust them and are very skeptical. Pencil urchins tend to be higher risk because of their eating habits. But I am only re-entering the reef hobby after 15 years of fw only, so I will defer to others, as my info may be a bit dated.

Some urchins may chew on acrylic - their little mouths (called Aristotle's lantern) are very strong. Also they can be venomous if you handle them - best to let it get on a rock and just remove the rock if you want to relocate it.


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Unread 02/15/2018, 01:07 PM   #6
jay415
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Thanks I appreciate all the info, I will keep an eye on it!


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Unread 02/16/2018, 08:27 AM   #7
jocca
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mhaze View Post
I do not know much but I will try to help...



My guess is some sort of a young pencil urchin, based on the pattern and shape of the spines? It's so tiny at this point that it's hard to tell for sure. Any idea of the ocean of origin?



I tend to go with innocent until proven guilty (especially with tiny things) because I love biodiversity, but I would watch it for sure with stony corals, especially things like montis. I had one a bit like it 15 years ago that got big and started boring into my rock so I took it to the LFS for trade in. It did not bother the corals much, but did make a bit of a mess when it got big. It would disappear for months at a time and come out of rockwork much larger.



I have a different species now that has grown crazy fast but is completely benign and does not leave a 6" diameter area. It eats coralline but it regrows so quickly that it does not even seem to affect the coralline population. It has stayed far away from corals, but I'm watching it closely. It is an Atlantic species with narrow spines.



Some people will buy urchins to graze algae and house cardinal fish, but some people distrust them and are very skeptical. Pencil urchins tend to be higher risk because of their eating habits. But I am only re-entering the reef hobby after 15 years of fw only, so I will defer to others, as my info may be a bit dated.



Some urchins may chew on acrylic - their little mouths (called Aristotle's lantern) are very strong. Also they can be venomous if you handle them - best to let it get on a rock and just remove the rock if you want to relocate it.


I agree with Mhaze


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Unread 02/19/2018, 11:43 PM   #8
TosT
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Third on the pencil sea urchin idea. From the video, looks like you can see its tube feet flailing around in the current.


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