Perfect urchin for high-intensity flow

[Jikkermanccini]

Saw these for sale at a store in Kentucky and was totally fascinated. They're shingle urchins, built for intertidal surf flow, and might be a perfect urchin for ultra-flow SPS tanks. They don't pick stuff up as much as normal pincushions or tuxes do either.

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[Hunna]

I’ve seen some contradictory info on these guys. Some say they are great, others say they aren’t suitable for aquariums. Quick searches show they mainly eat coralline algae. I guess if you have a ton of it, you might be able to sustain one. They are really cool either way.

 

[project1004]

Wow!!

 

[project1004]

I wonder if they can be homed with other urchins like tuxedo/halloween urchins with spikes!? Since they have soft body! $80 is pricey but looks like awesome addition to have.

 

[Jikkermanccini]

I wonder if they can be homed with other urchins like tuxedo/halloween urchins with spikes!? Since they have soft body! $80 is pricey but looks like awesome addition to have.

the body isn't soft, they just have flattened spines instead of spikes. They are actually quite stiff.

 

[siege]

I also saw these come up somewhere recently and thought they looked neat, but didn't have enough info.

I'd for sure love to have one, buuuuut... the eating coraline algae thing is a pretty big negative for me, I'd worry I'd need a rather larger tank to sustain enough growth for both the urchin as well as the overall health of the tank.

Apparently they also eat periwinkles, as well as other urchins, and can grow to the size of a softball. They also apparently more or less need high-flow, as they're evolved to live in inhospitable, wave-battered shores.