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Blue Tuxedo Urchin

Also known as the Blue Pincushion Mespilla globulus is a small urchin that is fairly easy to care for. They are one of the few urchins generally considered reef-safe.

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Searched Blue Tuxedo Urchin in Reviews

Shot spines, small body, and won't knock over your rocks

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One of the main foods of the Tuxedo urchin is coralline algae. One of the reasons I purchased mine was so that it could eat it. The coralline had built up so much that a chisel (literally) wouldn't remove it. I was a bit disappointed however as it chose softer algae to eat rather than the coralline. I have read reports where people lost all their coralline to this urchin but that is not my experience having owned two of them over the years.

In terms of urchins, I really love this one because of the soft velvet blue bands on its test. The spines are short and non-poisonous. Because they are so short they don't get in the way of fish, I'm not afraid anything (including my hand) will get pricked by them.

This urchin has the unique habit of taking bits of stuff and sticking it on itself. This is to protect it from bright light as it is sensitive to UV radiation. If you have loose corals they will stick those on as well. I've had some zoanthus on my urchin but mostly they stick bits of rock, shell, or macro algae on.

If you notice your urchin without this protection that is a signal that something is wrong. Another sign that something is wrong is if you notice loose spines in the tank. When this urchin becomes stressed or sick it will drop its spines.

Some things to look for are when buying a blue tuxedo urchin are:

1. Spines in tact. A stressed urchin or one that has not been acclimated properly, will often lose its spines.
2. Bits of debris stuck to the top of it. the urchin puts this there and a lack of such cover is often a sign of an unhealthy urchin.
3. No damage to tube feet. These urchins have tube feet all over their bodies.

It is important to drip acclimate this urchin slowly over the course of a 1.5 to 2.5 hours because it is very sensitive to changes in salinity, temperature and water quality. My first Tuxedo urchin died when there was a salt spike in my tank when. They also do not tolerate nitrates or poor water quality in general. Regular water changes are a must and good skimming helps.

Liked about it	1. Small size 2. Won't knock over rocks. 3. Very attractive blue color. 4. Eats algae, including coralline which can thickly build up on your tank. I do find this urchin on top of my Koralias cleaning them off for me.
Didn't like	1. Will sometimes stick soft corals to its test.