What kind of urchin? (pic)

resRfun

Ive had this urchin ever since i first started my 10 gal, and its grown quite larger than what it was before... Ive tried removing it, but it's needles are REALLY hard... i mean stronger than an average tooth pick! If any one knows what kind it is, how big will it get and if it gets to a dangerous level or not?



Thanks

bettababy

Can you get a closer up picture of the urchin? It looks like it may be a pencil urchin, but it's very hard to tell for sure in that photo.

If it's a pencil urchin, it's harmless to you, but will destroy any kind of reef tank you might attempt to set up, and will way outgrow a 10 gallon tank. Most urchins get fairly large, and a minimum tank size is going to be about 30 gallons or more, depending on what you keep with it.

resRfun

how would i remove it? Ill try to get a closer pic, once it comes out again XD.

Felicia

Looks like a rock boring urchin.

bettababy

My husband recognized it as a common short spine urchin. That is usually the name given to them from the wholesalers and found on the wholesale lists. To give it an exact species name, we'd need a much closer up and better picture. The color is a dark purple black, and there is a white ring around the base of each spine.
I have not been able to find a decent photo of anything referred to as a "rock boring urchin" but I can say that the particular name "rock boring urchin" actually can refers to 2 different species of urchin. Whether they are actually the same thing as the common short spine urchin or not, at this point I can't say for sure.