# Urchin advice/help



## tammytangy (Jun 19, 2012)

Hi,

I have a tip to tip 4 inch urchin (I think family echinometridae, and I believe it's a virida). First time owning one. I have received all kinds of different advice and read all kinds of things. I've been told the following (all by different people):

1) Feed it dried seaweed. Daily.
2) Feed it cooked shrimp. Daily.
3) It won't eat shrimp or seaweed. Need to feed it algae wafers.
4) Leave it alone. It's a grazer and doesn't need to be target fed.

So I'm confused. Which is true??
Also, if I do indeed have to target feed it, how in the world am I supposed to do that? It always seems to wedge itself in between live rock in some crevice and the times I have tried to get it off to feed it, it seems like it is clinging super tight to the rock and I end up breaking some spine tips off. Then when I go to feed it, it doesn't really seem that interested in eating the seaweed or shrimp (I've tried both). Both usually end up drifting off somewhere else in the tank and I have to get it out of the tank to prevent the food from getting stuck somewhere where I can't find it and rotting away.
Any practical tips on how to feed an urchin? Or do I even have to target feed it??

:question:

Thanks in advance for any help!


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## Reefing Madness (Jun 26, 2011)

Unless your tank is free of Algae, there is no need to target feed them. You can, if you so wish to do so, it won't hurt anything. The way to do it though is to get your algae sheet, and rubber band it to a rock. If he's hungry he'll go to it.


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