Urchin Question- Help!

[365seasons]

We recently purchased a Diadema setosum (Long-spinned urchin), and the guy at the store told us we could feed it strictly dried seaweed.
When we got home, I was researching them, and it says they survive off algae grazing.
Our tank is only a few weeks old, and therefore has accumulated no algae growth yet.
Will dried seaweed suffice, or is there something else we can do to help it?

Thanks so much.

[untamed]

My long spine urchin prefers to eat coraline algae. In fact, my short spined black urchin also prefers coraline algae. My guess is that your urchin won't be interested in algae sheets.

[marie]

One of my long spined urchins will visit the algae clip regularly but then it also eats corals and dead fish... it's possible it might be mentally defective :razz:

[awa1979]

I don't have a long spine urchin but I do have a pin cushion and it prefers coralline and will eat live sea weed but wont touch the dry stuff.

[Delphinus]

I find Diadema urchins surprisingly easy to spot feed if needed. Take a turkey baster and shoot some Spirulina flakes or pellets (Spirulina is algae) towards it, you'll be surprised how adept they are at catching stuff from the water column if they are interested in what you're offering.

That said I hardly ever target feed mine and I have an algae free tank and yet it doesn't seem to starve. I do feed Nori everyday for the fish and I know he (the urchin) will occasionally belly up to the nori stick and eat his fill. Doesn't happen everyday though and when it does happen it's always at night.

HTH :)

[fiorano]

my urchin only ate coralline... only came out at night ... and when he did he knocked everything over lol. but for some reason i still like him :)

[banditpowdercoat]

I got a Pin cushion Urchin over a month ago. Saw him one in the first 2 days, and now havnt seen him at all since :(

[whatcaneyedo]

My last tuxedo urchin would always eat the remaining nori off of the seaweed clip once my tang was done with it. On the flip side my rock boring urchin prefers aquarium silicon over any other kind of food... he has been banished to the rubbermaid tub refugium.

[fiorano]

really he eats silicone? thats kinda scary and wouldn't that be bad for it in someway?

[whatcaneyedo]

I've also seen them in at our LFS eating the silicone of their holding tanks as well. I think the problem may have been that they like to bore into soft limestone rock and my frag tank where it was doesnt have any so it picked the next best thing.

[oceanrider]

these are pretty primitive creatures...and they do chew up things like coral substrate, sand, etc...anything that may have algae or organic debris.

Feeding sea urchins some dried seaweed (non flavoured , non salted kind) is fine...but supplementing that with fish food tabs once in a while would be great also.