Pincusion Urchin What Tanks Size Will It Be Ok In My 14 Gallon

[bae1994]

hes wrecking my rock work in the 100 gal so ive moved him to the 14 gal but will this be ok permantly
if not ill have to rehome him

 

[Crazy fishes]

According to Ron Shimek the smallest tank any urchin should be housed in is 50g. However I know that many people in this forum have Diadema Spp, including myself, in tanks smaller than 50g and we are enjoying success. I think that a permanent fixture in a 14g is a little 'cosy' and may not be in the urchins best interest so looking to rehouse him else where is probably the best option.

Just out of curiousity how does he 'destroy the rockwork'??

Regards

 

[bae1994]

well he riped off a bit of my coral and pulls out any very small rocks

 

[Crazy fishes]

well he riped off a bit of my coral and pulls out any very small rocks

While it is annoying to have corals damaged in anyway it is a 'natural' process on the reef. Unless he is causing real havoc give him a second chance in the 100g and think about using putty to fix the smaller rocks.

Regards

 

[bae1994]

yeah i do really like him but i dont see him much and have had him for like 8 months and he causes havok so i think i may look into rehoming him

 

[Donya]

My E\ucidaris metularia fairly beats up my rocks whenever it decides to grow a bit (needs the extra calcium I guess?), but thankfully it seems to prefer destroying cheap limestone. I figure the non-reef limestone must present a surface that's somehow more munchable. E. meularia is a pretty small species, so I don't know how big your urchin is or what its dietary requirements are, but my urchin did just fine in a 12gal for over a year and has now been in a 20gal for getting close to a year. The tanks both had a lot of abundant food though.

According to Ron Shimek the smallest tank any urchin should be housed in is 50g.

I think I have one of his books that addresses urchins but it seems to have gone missing...anyway, guidelines without reasons aren't worth much, so I'm assuming he justifies that with food availability reasons? Coraline eaters would struggle in smaller tanks, and obviously large urchins could have a space issue, but for relatively small species and those with varied diets, I can't really see why they would need that much space, provided they get access to sufficient munchies several times per week. If they're relying solely on what the tank grows on its own as a source of food, that's another matter of course.

 

[bae1994]

thanks