[sacovington]

I was considering adding an urchin to my reef tank, a while after moving to a larger tank. I'm in the process of setting up a 65 gallon tank to rehome everything from an existing 40gallon hex.

Are long-spined urchins really OK for reef tanks? I've seen a lot of contradicting stuff on this. I don't mind if they leave white trails on LR where they've cleaned, and I'm planning to cement LR in place using aquarium-safe epoxy (putty) but if they bother corals i'm going to avoid them. Thoughts?

[BLKBRDTA]

Generally speaking, yes, Longspine Urchins are reef compatible. I wouldn't go as far as to say that they are reef safe though, not meaning they will eat coral, but rather bulldoze their way through it. Polyps, Zoanthids, Monti's, Mushrooms, basically anything that is low enough for them to crawl onto is at risk of being knocked loose. They are slightly poisonous as well, so extra care should be taken when handling them or while doing tank maintenance. Although a sting won't kill you, it will leave your arm cramped and aching for hours (which can get fairly irritating.) It is mainly a nocturnal animal, so do not be discouraged if you don't see them out much during the lighted hours. They are also invert-safe, so don't be worried about your crabs, snails or shrimp being consumed.

Though do take heed, Longspine Urchins can be moderately difficult to maintain if there is an insufficient amount of algae provided for them. Sand shrimp, veggie flakes and dried seaweed can be supplemented on a weekly bases. And some of your Coraline will be scraped off (hence the white trail.) They are very sensitive to levels of Nitrate, and if it sheds its spines, that means your water parameters are inhabitable for them. If one does happen to kick the bucket, it should be removed immediately after death, they will sometimes void the venom from their spines which is very dangerous to the other livestock's safety.

Now that you know more about the Longspine, you can decide for yourself if you would find them appealing in your current setup. They are more commonly seen in Predator tanks and FOWLR's than Reef systems. But when the proper precautions are taken into consideration and the caretaker accepts the responsibility, they make quite an eye-poping addition to an already astounding reef.

[gandorf2000]

bulldozer is a good term... they like to squeeze into cracks, and if it is a small rock or slightly unstably, it will come tumbling down.

[SECRETREEF]

long spines can also puncture the polyps of lps when cruising around searching for food. this could be very bad for lps as an infection could kill them from their ruptured skin.