Pincushion urchin eating snails?

[jcolliii]

My tuxedu eats the algae off of the snail shells. If he leaves them upside down and I don't catch it right away, they die. But he is not interested in eating the snails, just the algae on their shells. He has now done this to 3 snails.

 

[CanuckReefer]

How did u feed ur pencil urchin?

I don't feed any urchins. They find their own....The Pencil decided to feed itself Kenya Tree. I could have tried to feed it but a waste of time imo...once they find a taste for something they are going to hit at it when you're not looking....

 

[SlugSnorter]

My white pincushion urchin flipped over one of my turbo snails and tore him apart and ate some of him I think. I found the snails “shield” type thing they use to close themselves in there shells and I also found pieces of him on the sand. he hasn’t moved in a while and I’ll probably take him out soon. Anybody else ever have this happen I thought urchins were herbivores.

if the snail was flipped without its trap closed it like that it was likely already dead or sick. Even so, I doubt a punchusion did it, they do like to pickup shells and scraps though and use them as hats. Have any hermits or pistols?

 

[SlugSnorter]

I don't feed any urchins. They find their own....The Pencil decided to feed itself Kenya Tree. I could have tried to feed it but a waste of time imo...once they find a taste for something they are going to hit at it when you're not looking....

you can feed them if your tank is low on algea.

 

[CanuckReefer]

you can feed them if your tank is low on algea.

For sure 100%..... With a Pencil though, that developed a taste for coral, I figured if I didn't stay right on top of it all of the time, eventually....all heck breaks loose again. Sticking to my Pincushion and Rock Borers here on out lol.

 

[SlugSnorter]

For sure 100%..... With a Pencil though, that developed a taste for coral, I figured if I didn't stay right on top of it all of the time, eventually....all heck breaks loose again. Sticking to my Pincushion and Rock Borers here on out lol.

gotta be carful with the urchin you get. some people see kenyas as weeds though, some they might pay you for that pencil lol

 

[Kapachuka3]

if the snail was flipped without its trap closed it like that it was likely already dead or sick. Even so, I doubt a punchusion did it, they do like to pickup shells and scraps though and use them as hats. Have any hermits or pistols?

Nope

 

[FishAccordingToMe]

Here are some pictures of my jerk chasing down and preying on snails. Luckily if I pull him off and put some red ogo algae nearby he chooses that instead.

Pic #1 (white light) -20 minutes after I put that snail in the tank Pierre (because he eats snails) left his chaeto bush to go chase after the snail.

Pic #2 and 3 - Screenshots of the urchin attempting to pull a live snail off the glass to get his mouth to the snail's foot

Video of the full attack here: ... I rescued the snail that time only to later find the urchin upside down with the snail again. I re-rescued the snail and this time the snail got moved to the refugium.

 

[EricR]

Here are some pictures of my jerk chasing down and preying on snails. Luckily if I pull him off and put some red ogo algae nearby he chooses that instead.

Pic #1 (white light) -20 minutes after I put that snail in the tank Pierre (because he eats snails) left his chaeto bush to go chase after the snail.

Pic #2 and 3 - Screenshots of the urchin attempting to pull a live snail off the glass to get his mouth to the snail's foot

Video of the full attack here: ... I rescued the snail that time only to later find the urchin upside down with the snail again. I re-rescued the snail and this time the snail got moved to the refugium.

I "Like"d the video and pics evidence. (Not the urchin behavior)
Mine too (posted earlier) -- seen 1 margarita snail and 1 small hermit devoured,,, both were healthy in my opinion.
I pull them off now whenever urchin grabs anything living,,, especially my little zoa frags that he's always grabbing, but not eating (yet).