Pincushion Urchin

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Pincushin urchin.
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Pincushin urchin.
=Pincushion Urchin=

Scientific Name Lytechinus vaniegatus

Max. Size: up to 8"

Tank Size: 30 gallons or larger

Aggression: not aggressive but can feed on sessile invertebrates in a reef system.

Hardiness:

72 to 78°F; Salinity 1.023 to 1.025; pH 8.1 to 8.4; Alkalinty (dKH) 8 to 12. Poor water quality will cause the loss of their spines.

Reef-Safe: Yes

Available as captive-bred: No

Hitchhiker? No

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Physical Description

Round to oval body made up of plates (10) and a body covered with many uniform spines. They can come in a variety of colors from pink to purple and orange to white, some even can show all of these colors.

Distribution

Atlantic Ocean


Taxonomic Stuff you know you Care About

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  • Domain: Eukaria
  • Kingdom: Animalia
  • Phylum: Echinodermata
  • Subphylum: Echinozoa
  • Class: Echinoidea
  • Genus: Lytechinus
  • Species: vaniegatus

Behavior

Peaceful

Feeding

Algae with large amounts of live rock for feeding but can supplement their diet with seaweed.

Breeding

Extremely difficult to breed

Social Structure

Mainly solitary but can tolerate members of similar species.

Additional Notes

Live rock in the aquarium should be stable with room for it to move and not get wedged inbetween rock work.

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