behavioral patterns on urchins?

[beerbaron]

hello all, i was wondering who of you used urchins for bubble algae control. which types do you tend to use and although some are considered reef safe while others are not, i feel the classifications are a bit grey. i have pretty good coraline growth. but some people say they devour it all, while some say their coraline grows faster than the urchin eats it. ive heard they pretty much mow down everything in their path. will i see a major decrease in live rock life? do they knock alot of things over(i guess compared to a mexican turbo)? do they harm corals? do they do a number on bubble algae, or are they hit and miss like emeralds? i have heard blue tuxedo's are the best, but i do prefer the looks of the longer spined urchins, especially since my future stocking list includes bangaii cardinal pairs. sorry about the million questions.

thanks for any and all help
BB

 

[Fish Guy]

Ive kept 3 species of Urchins. A long spined caribbean, purple pincushion and blue tux. The Blue tuxedo is the best since it stays small and never ate any corals. My long spined carribean ate xenia and mows eveything off the rock. Same thing with the pincushion about mowing plus it is a bulldozer due to its size. Coralline seems to grow faster after the urchins have scoured the rock clean. Id keep the blue tuxedo.

 

[The Pirate]

But did the blue tux eat the bubble algae? Which one was best at it?

 

[ThrillYa]

Pirate, not sure if you are still having problems with your bubble algae but I've got the same problem. I've been keeping a long spined urchin in my refugium and just moved him up into the main tank to see if he would take the bubble algae out. I'll keep you posted.

Mike

 

[The Pirate]

I bought a Blue Tux and a black long tentacle urchin just to find out for myself which one was better. So far the Blue Tux is the better Coralline algae eater :lol:

 

[ThrillYa]

Any sign on how well they go after the bubble algae yet?

 

[The Pirate]

Unfortunately they tend to be most active at night and on the under side of the rock so it's hard to tell so far.

 

[Markymarklar]

i had a pencil urchin once and never had a problem with bubble algae. decided to trade it in for other livestock and then my bubble algae nightmares started. don't know if it's a coincidence or what, but i do konw that i'm going to get another urchin to see if it helps. how much does your lfs charge you for your blue tux's? :?: my pencil urchin never harmed any corals but did eat a decent amount of coraline algea- nothin way too much though. the main reason i got rid of him was because he was a wondering bulldozer knocking everything over in his path. heard the blue tux doesn't do this as much.