3 black urchins came with LR... poisonous?

[jandree22]

hey guys, I have three of these guys that came with my Aquacultured Gulf LR. Their base is about 1" wide, with their spikes, 3" wide. They've been alive in there for a couple of months now and they just appear to eat algae off the side of the glass and on the LR. I think they're kinda cool so I plan to keep them, UNLESS they are venomous and pose a stinging threat to either my livestock or myself. Anyone have a clue? If they're venomous I'm gonna try to pass them on to a LFS. Thanks...

Bottom end

From the top
(those white spots are just salt deposits on the glass)

 

[fishfanatic2]

They don't look like long-spines but they come from the same area (caribbean). They may not be fatal, however I really wouldn't want to find out. I have seen that kind before, I dont remeber the name. However, those spines look made for stinging. Until you get a positive ID I'd be careful. 8O

 

[jandree22]

long spined are fatal?! I read that it's about as bad as a bee sting...

http://liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Dis ... pCatId=591

I got some pretty thick PVC aquarium gloves to remove them if need be... maybe I'll make sure to wear them whenever I'm in the tank for anything else too :wink:

 

[jandree22]

I emailed the one of the marine biologists they staff at That Fish Place in Lancaster, PA. and I got this reply...

I am not sure what species of urchin you have there but it looks a lot like a member of the Diadema genus. These urchins are not venomous but the spines are sharp, reverse barbed, and brittle and make for painful removal. They also will eat the coralline algae off your rocks. It would be best to remove it. If you contact the Fish room at 717 299 5691 they may be able to take it off your hands.

I guess that's a relief as far as stinging, but of course I don't want 3 porcupines in my tank either! I dunno, I would probably just let them be but.... well, I don't want all my coralline eaten up either. We'll see... ::shrug:: :?

 

[Anonymous]

Hey Jandree... did you get your LR from TBS or from Gulf Coast? Just curious

 

[jandree22]

Gulf View I highly recommend it, I got the base rock and it was covered in beautiful coralline and had tons of creatures that came with it. Dale is a really nice guy to work with, too

 

[Anonymous]

Ahhh, yes. He and his wife are both great people (I was fortunate enough to be able to pick out my own rock from his holding tanks).

I still have about a half dozen of the same (I'm assuming) urchins left in my tank. I've picked up the smaller ones (pinky nail sized) w/surgical gloves, no problem (they grow fast, though!)... the larger ones are pretty intimidating. I do hope to have some corals one of these days, so I opted to play safe and take them out. So far they're done no noticeable damage... but I have no corals so ::shrug:: Just what exactly can they hurt, y'know?

Did you, by chance, get any mantis shrimp in your rock?

 

[jandree22]

yah, i have those Coralife aquarium gloves. those suckers are thick PVC on the bottom so I'm not worried when the time comes for removal.

I'm lucky/happy to say negative on the mantis shrimp topic :wink:

 

[RHIANNON]

I think they look wild :twisted:

 

[John_Brandt]

Those look like Echinometra urchins. I pick them up with my bare hands all the time. The spines are sharp, but not needle-sharp. Go slow and don't squeeze!

There are the Diadema urchins (called "long spine") which do have needle-sharp spines. These are nearly impossible to pick up by hand, and a spine in your flesh will hurt terribly. There are also a number of highly toxic urchin species (some of which enter the trade) that you do not want to touch.

 

[wade1]

FYI: I have 3 of these urchins in my tank... I pick them up all the time without any ill effects. I believe Brandt is correct on their ID. The spines are sharp, although nothing compared to others and somewhat brittle (like all urchins) but overall they are pretty tough suckers. They will starve in a tank devoid of algae though. They may incidentally hit corraline but they don't feed on it.

Wade

 

[Anonymous]

Thought I would bump this up since I just got stung by a long spine urchin. I was adjusting a return pipe and did not notice my urchin. The urchin is about the sive of a soccer ball and has 5-6" spines. It left a blackened area under the skin of my finger tip and a dull pain - but nothing that I would consider significant.

 

[wade1]

That black stain will likely be with you a while... but its not a big concern. The main thing people complain about with urchin stings is the pain... and if it didn't bother you much you will be fine.

The only other thing to be careful of is allergies... if you are one of those people who have severe reactions to bee's etc, then PLEASE watch out around them!

Wade