Sea Urchin questions

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Arthropoddi

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Apr 21, 2014
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Mid-Michigan
So I'm just starting out with saltwater, and to be honest I've been thinking about switching completely over to saltwater, but I want to give it a go at least once before I do that of course, so I've been designing my new tank in my head, lol, and I'm really decided on having sea urchins in my clean up crew; I'm really in love with them :love: lol

The thing is, I know they sting. I'm not afraid of being stung, I'm not afraid of it hurting or anything, I get stung on a weekly basis by other pets that I have, lol, but I'm afraid of the venom. Every website I go to, looking for which ones are more venomous, all they say is only ten sea urchins are fatal, but they don't say which ones? I mean, I don't imagine they'd offer the deadly ones in the hobby, but has anyone ever had a particularly bad experience with a sea urchin sting?

And how you would transfer it from it's..bag or whatever it's in when it came home to the tank without getting stung?

And I read they might go after hermit crabs, is that true? And if it's a problem, how do you secure your rock so they don't knock them over, which I also read is sometimes a problem because they like to crawl through them?

Sorry I'm totally new at this..

Thanks! :thanks:
 
When talking about urchins ?
I haven't read anything about one that can " sting " or being venomous.
I will say they consume a lot of algae , coralline algae
They will knock over rock piled in your reef if they are not fastened well .
When you buy one it will come in a fish bag , and just grab it and put it in lol
I have have a few .
I'll attach a few pictures of my urchins .
Possibly could you be thinking of anemones ?
 
Most urchins in the hobby are harmless. I have a blue tuxedo who is really Cool and eats a ton of coralline. He just travels my glass a day and I can touch him if he is near the top.
 
I handle all mine and never heard of venomous urchins .or one that stings .
I've only been involved in this hobby for a couple years .
 
Rmckoy said:
I handle all mine and never heard of venomous urchins .or one that stings .
I've only been involved in this hobby for a couple years .
Click to expand...

I'm with you Rmckoy, I've never hear of a venomous one in the hobby.
 
This is why I asked possibly could the OP be asking about anemones and which one is less likely to sting,
My personal experience the ritteri and gigantic carpet packs a nice punch .
Seabae are very sticky , but haven't got stung yet ,
Maxi mini are pretty and eat like pigs , very sticky but again haven't got stung yet .
 
Rmckoy said:
This is why I asked possibly could the OP be asking about anemones and which one is less likely to sting,
My personal experience the ritteri and gigantic carpet packs a nice punch .
Seabae are very sticky , but haven't got stung yet ,
Maxi mini are pretty and eat like pigs , very sticky but again haven't got stung yet .
Click to expand...

I did mean sea urchins, but I think, after reading all these responses now, I was over reading and misinterpreting people stepping on them while diving and getting spines in their foot as a sting, lol :rolleyes:

I probably was thinking of anemone's when I thought of how they would conventionally "sting."

They were saying sea urchins had some slight venom, though.

there's a wikihow on how to treat them

How to Treat a Sea Urchin Sting: 7 Steps - wikiHow

...and from wiki answers:

"Sea urchin venom is typically delivered via claw-like structures called pedicellaria. The spines may or may not be venomous, as well. Puncture wounds from the spines can be a site of venom injection, infection, and tissue damage."

I can't even find the other sites I was on, like I dreamed them up or something, lol

So I guess I can just pick it up no problem? I assume it would be just like picking up my hedgehog, then lol.

Sorry for all the confusion..
 
They are kinda weird .
Creepy to pick up lol
They are very strong be careful oh don't get pinched between their spikes ( pencil urchin )
And the tuxedo urchins have a hair like fuzz that can feel like getting fibreglass in your body , very itchy
 
Rmckoy said:
They are kinda weird .
Creepy to pick up lol
They are very strong be careful oh don't get pinched between their spikes ( pencil urchin )
And the tuxedo urchins have a hair like fuzz that can feel like getting fibreglass in your body , very itchy
Click to expand...

Very cool, thank you! What do you mean by strong? Do they holster themselves to things?
 
Ha ha .
You will see exactly what I am trying to explain .
They use their tentacles to move around .
 
I have black spiny urchins the only way I see you getting stung is if you step on one in the wild,I can hold them or just out right move them if they are where I'm working they are harmless
their also a delicacy in China
 
Rmckoy said:
People eat them ?
There wouldn't be much to them
Click to expand...

Lol yeah I saw that too, I saw a picture where it looked like it was serving as some sort of bowl too, I could be wrong about that but that's what it looked like. I'd try to find it again but I'm on my phone.
 
I've actually thought many times and wondered if people eat anemones ?
 
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