feeding urchins..necessary ?

[socal_aqua]

i know that black long spined urchins like the one i have eats hairy algae, but i read you can feed it nori (dried seaweed) too...is it necessary in a new tank where algae might not be present just yet?
and, how the hell do you feed dried seaweed to an urchin and how much? i've googled the hell out of this topic and can't find much! thanks!

 

[fishfan06]

I have a black longspined urchin and I haven't had any problems. It seems to find it's own food , algae is always growing in the tank even if you can't see it, so I wouldn't worry. If it starts to change color or lose it's spines then you could place a piece of an algae sheet close to it and it will crawl over it and eat it.

 

[scubaguy]

Take a small piece of dried seaweed and get a plastic feeding clip from your LFS. Then attach it to the glass where ever. OR I have heard use a rubberband and take the seaweed and put it on a small piece of live rock. I have a black long spiny urchin and have never had to feed it. Like the person above stated, it has always found some algae.