sponges and urchins

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turboTSI

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
May 26, 2004
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Location
Grand Rapids, MI
Sorry I was unsure where to put this if it needs to be moved please do so..

anywho I was interested in some info on both urchins and sponges

I have a non reef (as of now just fish and a couple pieces of LR)

and I wanted to know what do these guys need

Urchins...
are there spines sharp enough to hurt us, is there any problem if poked by one (venomous or what have u).. are they food for either lionfish or SFE's...
what do they need to feed..
do they need good lighting etc (I just have a standard flourescent light

Sponges:
how hard to keep, anythign special I need to know.
do they need special light?
what do they need for food purposes..
do they need LR to live and grow..


anythign else u can add on these guys would be appreciated thx again

Dave
 
Don't know much about the sponges, but most urchins sold in the trade are not venomous, but it never hurts to ask because there are a few that are. That being said, you still want to avoid getting pierced by one. The spines can cause a heck of an infection.
I have a variety of urchins in my system (see my gallery for pics), they are cool animals to have. Most are low maintainence and will spend their time eating algae (including coraline if you don't target feed them several times a week).
Some triggers and a few of the larger, more aggresive fish may snack on them, but most will leave them be.
I target feed mine nori 2-3 times a week and they do just fine. In fact, my black long spine urchin will come up to one corner of the tank for some nori when he is hungry. You might say he is trained. :lol:
Other than that, they need pristine water quality and very slow acclimation to thrive. Most deaths are from a too fast acclimation.
Post any specific questions you may have.
 
Tell that to my pencil urchin. He survived as a hitchiker from LR.com rock. Hes grown back most of his spines now. Likes to park under a rock for days, and then randomly teleport to the other side of the tank every so often.
 
I find my urchin very low maintenance. He was a hitchhiker. He grew very quick and just meanders around the tank finding food where he can. I don't know how venomous they are but try to avoid getting poked just in case. :mrgreen:

One thing to keep in mind with sponges is, they should never be out of water. So, make sure you get one from a good LFS since you'll be forced to add their water to your system. Also, they need to be away from light and in a good flow area to keep algae from growing on them. Your water quality must be great for them to do well. When feeding, any filter feeder food would work.

Oh, forgot to add...
In my experience, neither a lion or a SFE are gonna bother an urchin.
Not sure I understand your question about sponges needing lr. They don't need lr to survive if thats what your asking.
 
I think the sponges are out.. as for the urchins I was mainly interested in the pencil urchin but any I think would be cool.. now would they eat the seaweed sheets.. cause I only have two pieces of LR atm and it dont have alot of corline on it

Dave
 
I've read that they will eat the nori but mine wouldn't touch it. Maybe a pencil urchin would. They will also graze on the green film algae that gets on your rocks and glass.
 
I wish mine would. Mine would rather eat coralline. :lol: I had 11 hitchhikers. Got rid of all but one for that reason.
 
Its so funny, my longspine urchin comes up to the right front corner of my tank every other day and just waits there. I give him a strip of nori, he takes it and goes on him merry way. 2 days later, he's back again. Its like clockwork :lol:
 
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