Tuxedo Urchin

[govertical19]

Can you touch these urchins? Anyone know any good articles to read about tuxedos? I like the blue ones and was thinking about getting one.

Thanks

[Phurst]

Yes, they're perfectly fine to touch. I have a blue tuxedo I'm getting ready to give to a local reefer. They're awesome critters and very good algae eaters, but i tend to have a lot of loose frags in my system, and I'm tired of him picking them up and carrying them around, or even worse, dropping them behind the rocks where I can't reach them.

Assuming everything in your tank is secure, I say go for it. they're beautiful.

[Carty]

ya, I hear they like to "wear" stuff

[govertical19]

If you were to epoxy the frags would they be fine then?

[Phurst]

Yeah, that's fine. It's not going to pry anything up, but it does regularly carry around things as large as frag plugs and astrea snail shells.

[Amphibious]

Something like this.

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa152/Amphibious_2007/Misc%20-%20Reef/DSC_0019.jpg

Yeah, I got tired of him knocking over frags, especially when they went back behind the LR and I didn't miss them for months. Do I have too many frags??? Yes. Now the urchin is living in my sump/refugium no longer doing any harm. Their cool, especially the Tuxedoes, but they bulldoze their way around.

Dick

[JustDavidP]

I had this guy in my seahorse tank where he USED to eat just the nusiance algae. When that was gone, he began to eat my sea grasses, and beneficial macro. He was "adopted" out soon thereafter.

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d176/JustDavidP/urchin.jpg

Dave

[govertical19]

I purchased a tuxedo urchin and he seems to have been nibbling on my leather coral. Is this normal?

[Phurst]

I've never known them to do so, but I don't have any leathers.