Urchin ID

[sea goblin]

I have a question about 2 sea urchins that i have in my 30 gal tank. Im not exactly sure what kind they are. I got them one at a time from the same store and i thought they were long spine, but i looked a bit on the net and they look differant. The ones i have are a very dark purple almost black even, but the spines are thicker than the long spine, and not as thick as a pencil's. I think that maybe i have crowned urchins but am not sure. Any info as to what they might be or if you know anything about crowned urchins would be very helpful.
Thanks, Sea Goblin

 

[nightshiftman]

i know one thing for sure.
urchins ARE NOT a good choice for a reef tank for MANY reasons.

 

[ophiura]

It is quite possible that they are Echinometra l_a_c_u_n_t_e_r. Hard to tell without a photo.
I disagree with the above statement. Depending on the setup, urchins can be fine additions to a reef tank. Typically in larger tanks however. They can grow large pretty quickly, outgrowing a small tank in short order.
They can and will bulldoze improperly secure frags and rocks, which is not their fault, but the reefkeepers. Some can eat coralline algae, but others report that this can in fact result in improved growth of coralline algae in health systems. Regardless, in a healthy system, they should not do major damage to coralline algae cover. They are urchins after all, and are not known for high speed grazing. Some urchins, primarily pencil urchins, may eat other things in their path and are considered omnivores. You should avod jamming your hand into any urchin, but particularly long spine urchins.

 

[nightshiftman]

one more thing that they eat is power cords. i've seen it happen to someone once, and it wasn't pretty. i would value my life more then a sea urchin.

 

[plum70rt]

I have 5 urchins in my tank at first I thought they were pests I now like them ,just have to watch them a little,
Susan I was checking out your site, Cool , you are the goddess of the starfish

 

[eelfreakrobi]

I have one urchin, and love it,it does eat the corraline, but it grows back rapidly and when it grows back it leaves a nice color, a very light pink.

 

[bang guy]

I have 6 L_a_c_u_n_t_e_r in my reef. They are a wonderful addition IMO. Just be careful about where you stick you hand.

 

[sea goblin]

Hey, thanks guys, that looks like what i have. I love the ones that i have, all they do is eat the green algea i have and dont bother my coraline. I will remember to keep an eye on them though so they dont knock over all my rocks.
Sea Goblin