Help, just got in a giant urchin.

[Arsenix2001]

I just got in my order from salty underground and when I open the bag I almost fell over at the size of this rock urchin. It's the size of half a baseball. Is a rock urchin the same as a tuxedo? Is this thing going to decimate everything in my tank? All my stuff is glued down. Trying to decide what to do with this thing before putting it in my display tank and having a wreck everything in 3 hours

 

[Arsenix2001]

By the way, its actually bigger than it looks in the photo, its almost 3" across

 

[andrewey]

It's good that you glued everything down. It's still going to create some havoc If you like having your frags carried around and the fun of someone doing a bit of reaquascaping of loose pieces, enjoy your new interior designer. I had one urchin that used to carry around 20 heads of duncans I had placed in the sand- just a moving tree throughout the tank...If you think it's too large, you could always trade it at your LFS for a smaller one

Also, make sure you understand it's feeding requirements, ecspecially with regard to urchin mortality in smaller tanks.

 

[Dr. Bluethumb]

YOU CAN ALWAYS CRACK IT OPEN AND USE IT FOR FOOD

 

[Arsenix2001]

Yeah the big guy is already picked up like three snails I'm acclimating with it and carry them across my acclimation tank lol. I have what I wouldn't say is a horrible but a spreading turf hair algae problem so there is plenty for him to munch on right now. I guess I'll give it a shot and see what happens. Just really nervous about him knocking my bird's nests over

 

[Arsenix2001]

By the way, any ID on this fella? salty underground was referring to it as a rock or chin but it's sort of looks like a tuxedo urchin to me

 

[Arsenix2001]

Hes ginormous

 

[Sleeping Giant]

He's perfect, he'll eat all the GHA and maintain the tank for a long time, their not dumb, and usually know when they are around something that might hurt. It'll go all over your tank, but if you have a specific algae area you want him to work at, you should place him in that area because they feel the algae, they can't see it.

 

[Sleeping Giant]

My tuxedo urchin, went over to my anemone, who removed the GHA from the top of it, then it left and went back to its own area. Mine is about 2 inches across

 

[andrewey]

I would avoid handling the urchin too much- lifting them against suction is likely to do harm to their tube feed, which are pretty sensitive.

 

[Arsenix2001]

I would avoid handling the urchin too much- lifting them against suction is likely to do harm to their tube feed, which are pretty sensitive.

Thanks for all the help everyone. I'm going to leave him be, he seems to be munching away on the back glass already.

 

[Dr. Bluethumb]

By the way, any ID on this fella? salty underground was referring to it as a rock or chin but it's sort of looks like a tuxedo urchin to me

looks like a tux to me bud

 

[Arsenix2001]

Hey guys, he still has not left the glass, which is pretty clean. Should I gently move him over to the LR or just let him do his thing? Seems to be just going in circles on my front glass.

 

[Arsenix2001]

scratch that, he went down onto the sand bed and I was easily able to gently scoop him up and I placed him on the live rock

 

[X-37B]

I have 2 in my 120 and they only eat coralline.
Just make sure all frags are secure. Mine has uprooted, for lack of a better word, a couple that were not encrusted well yet.
They will break off some branching corals too.
I just take the pieces

that break and put them on a frag plug and place in my frag system.

 

[andrewey]

I'd leave him be. These guys can be pretty sensitive to changes and he's likely still acclimating. Moving him too much now can only serve to harm him.

 

[Arsenix2001]

I'd leave him be. These guys can be pretty sensitive to changes and he's likely still acclimating. Moving him too much now can only serve to harm him.

Not going to touch him anymore at this point. Only reason I moved him is he was on the sand bed and wasn't attached to anything. Placed him on an area with alot of nuisance algea so we will see what happens.

 

[Arsenix2001]

So my baseball seems to like the glass better than the rocks, lol. I have coraline but not enough to sustain him. I got some nori sheets from two little fishies and slipped a dime sized piece into him today and he gobbled it up. How much, often should I feed? I enjoy watching it even if it doesn't take care of the algea. Honestly better if he sticks on the glass lol