Do Urchins have a place in a Reef?

[PrettyFishies]

I inherited two urchins when I bought a tank 2nd hand. They were kept in their sump and I planned to do the same, when I realized they were eating my cheato. I moved them to the display, but one is turning the LR white.

Is there a benefit to keeping them or should I get rid of them?

 

[pat8you]

They are good for cleaning algae. They do eat coralline algae which is the purple and red colors you see on your live rock. They also have a bad habbit of picking things up and moving them around. This can be a pain if you start getting coral frags because they may knock them around or just take them for a ride. They are cool animals but they can occasionally be a pain.

 

[PrettyFishies]

So the white in their path is not a bad thing?

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

The white path is just the lack of coralline algae. If you like coralline algae, then this could be a bad thing.

Urchins are incredibly good algae eaters, so they can be very beneficial critters in a reef. But as Pat mentioned, they have some disadvantages too. Whether or not they're good or bad just comes down to personal preference. I'd love to have one, but I like my purple rocks too much!

 

[austinsdad]

Yep. You'll get a lot more white rocks too if you keep them in there. Dunno about you, but, the tank isn't as nice looking with the corraline algea growth.

What kind are they by the way?

 

[pat8you]

Sorry i didn't explain that better. Thanks Kurt. I'm with him i don't like that they eat all the nice looking coralline or i would get one.

 

[PrettyFishies]

Well, they have a new home at the LFS for now. I like my coraline.