Urchin Care

[Caronte]

Hello everyone:

Sometime ago, during the cycling time of my tank the expected algae bloom happens. Then I decide to get a Red Tuxido Urchin and two emerald Crabs to helps me with that. They do a very beautiful job and now I don't have any algae problems. so I start feeding them with seaweeds.

Problem is that the Urchin feed on 1/3 of the weed and the other 2/3 are used for "decorations" around his body, meaning dropping those parts on the water column when start decomposing and fouling the water. My tank is corals only, fishless with the urchin and a handful of snails right now.

My question is if is fine to keep the urchin in my reef? or better take him to my satellite tank (Only chaeto and the 2 emeralds in there) or my other FOWLR tank? I'm afraid that he will starve in my reef. Other than the seaweeds issue he didn't bother any of my coral at all.

The Emeralds on the other hand, don't waste any of the seaweeds and eat it to the end, but they're always hungry, how much should I have to give it to them?

[bageezus]

I have a purple pincushion in my reef tank. Only problem I have is sometimes he likes to carry around some of my new frags. I just pick the frag off him and he continues on. I have a few fish and two emeralds in the tank and only put one 1" by 2" piece of green seaweed in a week. Sometime I go 12 days or so. The emeralds will eat off the live rock, that is if you have anything growing on them yet. But between the two emeralds and my urchin I don't really provide them that much. You could drop a few crab pellets in for the emeralds and a little seaweed every other week. As long as your doing regular water changes I would feed them what they eat. If the seaweed is still sitting there in a hour or two, remove it. Hopefully this helps.

[Caronte]

I have a purple pincushion in my reef tank. Only problem I have is sometimes he likes to carry around some of my new frags. I just pick the frag off him and he continues on. I have a few fish and two emeralds in the tank and only put one 1" by 2" piece of green seaweed in a week. Sometime I go 12 days or so. The emeralds will eat off the live rock, that is if you have anything growing on them yet. But between the two emeralds and my urchin I don't really provide them that much. You could drop a few crab pellets in for the emeralds and a little seaweed every other week. As long as your doing regular water changes I would feed them what they eat. If the seaweed is still sitting there in a hour or two, remove it. Hopefully this helps.

Very much bageezus, thank you for you comment. I was feeding them one inch of seaweeds to each one daily!! because they never stop eating. I combine red and green seaweeds. Never tried the crab pellet before. Any specific brand that you recommended?

My urchin was carrying the zoas frags at the beginning now he "lives" in a section of my tanks where my SPS are (montis, acros and chalice in there) and don't made any harm in them.

I'll gonna start feeding them once a week as you recommended. Hope they're not starve. I really like these guys.