Urchins

Toolman

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I decided to get one any pictures I want color I read they eat coroline is that a good thing or a bad thing. are they reef safe? I have read pros and cons also they harm corals and bulldoze them around? so is it time to glue frags if I grab one? :question:
 
Urchins are a great part of the CUC, not all are reef safe though. They will eat coraline and that bothers some people but it'll grow back. I think it's so cool that I can see a white path on my rocks where my urchin traveled during the day.
 
Mine is a great algae eater, but hasn't really bothered the coraline. He's really gentle around my coral frags, and NONE of them are glued *L*. Mine hasn't got any special colors though, just a deep violet color. He's a short spine.
 
I held off on getting one for a long time because of all of the 'cons'... I LOVE mine it is really cool and is a great part of the CUC way better than any of my snails...
 
No pencil urchins if you have corals, shortspine's, spiny's, tuxedo's these will all be good and 1 or two will not be able to knock out an entire tank of its coraline, so have no fear and dive in.
 
here is a picture of mine, if it helps any... This species is a Strongylocentrotus purpuratus

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i just got a white short spine yesterday. he was only in there a few min and i could already see a dif. in my sand bed where he had been. Not to mention most people are like "what the heck is that thing." a conversation piece.
 
Tool here's mine the one on the left has at least two froags on him. That's why they are called decorator urchins, they pick up a lot of stuff. If you use epoxy you can allways remove the frag later.
DSC_0046_00.jpg
 
here he/she is thanks for the help. I got to sneek over to SeaBee's house and steel his blue one next time he is out chasing corals :helm2:
 

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i put my urchin in 2 days ago. my fiance rushed me through aclimation because she couldnt wait to get out of the house. i told her the urchin would die if we put it in to fast. needless to say. the urchin hasnt moved 5 inches in 3 days and it is starting to loose the quils. she said what happend to it. im not usually one to say i told you so but.....
 
That sucks RC, it's usually not a good sign when they start losing quills. Hopefully it'll pull through though
 
yeah. it wasnt expensive. but i would hate for it to die. it moved some last night. i figured i would watch it and see what happens before i jump the gun. If the fiance feels guilty enough she might be inclined to make it up to me...... corals i mean
 
i put my urchin in 2 days ago. my fiance rushed me through aclimation because she couldnt wait to get out of the house. i told her the urchin would die if we put it in to fast. needless to say. the urchin hasnt moved 5 inches in 3 days and it is starting to loose the quils. she said what happend to it. im not usually one to say i told you so but.....

Might be time to find another fiance :mrgreen:
 
I acclimated my pincushion for about two hours when I got him about three weeks ago, and as soon as I put him in the tank he started moving around and hasn't stopped. He's adorable, right now he managed to grab the whole clump of chaeto I had growing in the tank and he is now toting it around the tank on his back. As well as a snail shell, a piece of rock, and some plant. They're cute. Just glue your frags down.


Hope he gets better or you get a new one! :)
 
We semi-rushed through acclimating as well, only dripping for 2 hours or so. When we put him in the tank, overnight he lost a few spines and didn't move much. I moved him off the glass where he was and set him on a rock with a ton of algae. He perked up within a day or so and is happy and healthy now. Moving him probably didn't really help him but it made me feel better >_> I think he was just stressed from our skimping on acclimating. But he's fantastic and adorable and zooms around the tank now leaving nice white spots on the rocks.
 
yeah, im going to get another one this afternoon and im going to be sure to give it plenty of acclimation time. probably closer to 3 hrs. and im going to float it in my fuge so the temp stays consistant
 
lol as a matter of fact she is the one who it taking me to the store : ) she is going to foot the bill for an urchin a couple of fish and some frogspawn coral. i guess she felt bad about the first urchin.
 
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