Poor Urchin

[Creben]

during cleaning today, i didn't see my urchin attached to my filter inlet and when i moved it, he got pinched between the inlet and a rock. some of his spines broke off close to his body. do those things grow back? should i fear him dying because of it?

 

[little_fish]

They should grow back :)

 

[Jmck]

Most people break the spines off the urchins on purpose! There are some that have spines that stretch over an entire tank! hahaha. So dont stress, I always break mine.

 

[Smitty]

I agree, they should grow back if he's healthy.

 

[TiffyB]

Are sea urchins easy? I just bought some live rock and there was an urchin attached to it but the sales guy removed it before he gave me the rock. I was a little bummed 'cus I thought it would be cool to have. I decided to do some research on it first before I brought him home. I don't have any fish yet since my system is brand new.

 

[little_fish]

They can be very easy to keep in established tanks with enough food for them, the downside to them is that they tend to pick up your frags and carry them around

 

[TiffyB]

Cool! Maybe I'll pick him up next weekend =)

 

[Samhain]

I love my urchin, and he's doing a great job keeping down the algae in my tank! He does like to pick up my snails and tote them around, but so far he's left my frags alone. He is pretty small though, only about 1.5 inches across spines and all, so maybe he'll tote the frags around when he gets bigger.

 

[TiffyB]

I'm not INCREDIBLY familiar with coral but if he totes them around is that a bad thing? I guess I'm wondering if it's disruptive to the frags themselves not just annoying to have to put them back where you want them to stay.

 

[Creben]

Tiffy i havent heard many people complain about killing the corals, you should be ok. also it depends on which types you get as well. i have a short-spine urchin and he hasn't picked up anything yet. i think its those pincushion and tuxedo's that do that.

 

[TiffyB]

Thanks Creben =) I"m kind of excited to get the little fella! He's not spikey at all so I'm thinking that he's either a baby or a different type. I'll have to look him up.

 

[Creben]

best of luck! i do enjoy urchins i think you will too =]

 

[fastrd400]

Haha, this thread reminds me of the movie Surf's Up

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ude4ecCLPek]Surf´s up best scene :) - YouTube[/ame]