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Tuxedo Urchin (Mespilia sp.)
Tuxedo Urchin
Please Note: Due to variations within species, your item may not look identical to the image provided. Approximate size range may also vary between individual specimen.
Please Note: Due to variations within species, your item may not look identical to the image provided. Approximate size range may also vary between individual specimen.
Tuxedo Urchin (Mespilia sp.)
Additional locales and sizes may be available!
Additional locales and sizes may be available!

Quick Stats

Care Level Easy
Temperament Peaceful
Color Form Black, Blue, Red
Diet Herbivore
Reef Compatible Yes
Water Conditions 72-78° F, dKH 8-12, pH 8.1-8.4, sg 1.023-1.025
Max. Size 3"
Family Temnopleuridae
Supplements Calcium, Magnesium, Iodine, Trace Elements
Minimum Tank Size 20 gallons
Compatibility View Chart
What do these Quick Stats mean? Click here for more information
Care Level Easy
Temperament Peaceful
Color Form Black, Blue, Red
Diet Herbivore
Reef Compatible Yes
Water Conditions 72-78° F, dKH 8-12, pH 8.1-8.4, sg 1.023-1.025
Max. Size 3"
Family Temnopleuridae
Supplements Calcium, Magnesium, Iodine, Trace Elements
Minimum Tank Size 20 gallons
Compatibility View Chart
What do these Quick Stats mean? Click here for more information

Overview

Did you know that this specimen ships from our LiveAquaria® Wisconsin Facility, home of our popular Diver's Den® WYSIWYG Store and our LiveAquaria® Certified Captive Grown Corals (CCGC)? What that means is that you can rest assured knowing this specimen received the highest level of care from our experienced and professional LiveAquaria® staff!

PLUS, hobbyists that use our LiveAquaria® Professional Reef Salt have the added benefit knowing marine species shipped from our LiveAquaria® Wisconsin Facility share the same water parameters. In other words, if you use our Professional Reef Salt, marine species shipped from our Wisconsin Facility will acclimate and transition to your home aquarium with less stress to set the foundation for longer term success.

Looking for an easy-to-care-for addition to your cleanup crew? The Tuxedo Urchin will scavenge over rock and substrate for bits of food and algae to eat. The Tuxedo Urchins have oval or round bodies covered with hundreds of uniform spines. Though the spines are short, they are still sharp, and can puncture skin.

During the day, it will hide among the rocks, in crevices, or under plants in a sandy substrate. At night, it will emerge to graze on the algae present in or near its home. The Tuxedo Urchin generally roams alone, but several of them could be housed in the same aquarium if it is large enough to provide them with adequate food (algae) and shelter. It is sensitive to high levels of copper-based medications and it will not tolerate high nitrate levels. If it starts to lose a number of spines, it is often due to poor water conditions.

If algae levels are particularly low, its diet will need to be supplemented with dried seaweed. Assorted colors: Red or Blue.

Approximate Purchase Size: 3/4" to 2"

Customer Testimonials

J.A.
Great creature! Although it is very slow, it is fun to watch. It is completely reef safe. I would advise buying this exotic urchin!
Heather Z San Jose , CA
Love this little guy! Had it a week and it acclimated well and is doing great. I think it may have even grown some already! It decorates itself with bits of sand as it goes back and forth across the rock.
Mike J T , CO
Read Completely: These are really cool creatures to watch in the tank. They move around a lot and gather a bunch of material in the tank as camouflage. I have own 2 of these and I would recommend caution. Both were in a fairly new tank 6m and 3m old. I would recommend holding off until a year or so as small parameter changes can kill these creatures. Urchins are very sensitive to small changes in water quality. If you have a problem, you will notice they will fall from the wall and shrink up. That is followed by spines falling off and eventually death. These may be easy to keep, but I do not recommend them in a newer tank. Make sure your water parameters are very stable before introduction to your tank.
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