Urchins- will they eat coralline?

[Fantom555]

I was told urchins, would eat some of the massive amounts of coralline I have in my tank. Is this true? If so, which type or urchin is best for a 24 gallon nano. Also, do they eat off the glass or strictly rock and sand? Thank in advance

 

[Lionfish718]

yes, it will eat it anywhere it grows including glass, rock and shells. I have a long spine urchin.

 

[tosiek]

I haven't seen one that would fit in a 24g.

 

[Dre]

Most definitely, some grow to enormous sizes too.You might be better off use an old tooth brush.

 

[ryangrieder]

your not going to get a stright answer here. alot of people say yes, and alot say no. i personally say no. others might agree. others will dissagree. i have have 4-5 different urchins and none have ever touched my coraline. the longest i have had was a blue tux urchin which is good for a smaller tank because they take forever to grow. mine actually did not grow at all in a year. and i had a good amount of coraline and it never touched it. i have seen the urchin on my back glass which has alot of coraline and never did it eat peices off. i have it in my 29g bio cube right now.

 

[Ben251]

I guess it depends on what kind of urchins, some eat coraline and some dont seem to from my experience.

 

[Widdy]

+1 to Blue Tuxedo. Strangely mine picked up 2 polyps of zoas and carried it around for about 6-8 months...and now there's like 8 polyps. Was tempted to give it some Red Hornets... but alas, I chickened out

 

[Ben251]

+1 to Blue Tuxedo. Strangely mine picked up 2 polyps of zoas and carried it around for about 6-8 months...and now there's like 8 polyps. Was tempted to give it some Red Hornets... but alas, I chickened out

lol wonder what it will do if the zoas take over the whole urchin

 

[Widdy]

lol wonder what it will do if the zoas take over the whole urchin

Dunno what the urchin will do... but I'll be stripping it for bank!

 

[grknyer]

I had a blue tuxedo urchin but I didn't have him long enough to see if he ever touched the coralline algae because an acan enchinata took him out. :irked:

 

[ZANYMASTER]

I have a Short spine one and that's all it eats.I don't know how it lived for so long cause I don't feed it so it's eating something.:tongue1:

 

[SevTT]

Many urchins do indeed eat coralline. I've observed them in action, both with a diadema urchin and a tuxedo urchin. However, they tend to eat a small patch, move, eat a small patch, move...roaming all over. The tuxedo urchin had only cleared very small spots, not noticeable except when it did it on the glass, and the diadema urchin cleared somewhat bigger ones. Unless you've got a big urchin in a tiny tank, and no other food sources for them, you don't really need to worry about them having any real effect on the amount of coralline in your tank.

 

[deepblue68]

i had pencil urchins and yes they ate coraline alage.

 

[e.muehlbauer]

I have a blue tuxedo urchin, and no, it does not eat corralline. In fact, it seems to have no effect on any other algae in the tank. It must be doing well, because I have had it many years....and I agree, it grows slowly. In fact, it doesn't appear to have grown at all, which is fine with me. Its always on the move, but doesn't bulldoze anything. It is like a decorator crab...its always got something its carrying around, usually pieces of Caulerpa or mushrooms.