Pin Cushion Urchin (Lytechinus variegatus)

Description

Pin Cushion Urchin, hand-collected and quarantined right here in Key West. Photographed under blue spectrum reef lighting, this specimen shows the dense crown of short, pale spines and the mottled test beneath that gives the species its name. Available in two sizes — choose Small or Large above.

About the Pin Cushion Urchin (Lytechinus variegatus)

Also called the variegated or green sea urchin, this is one of the most common and most useful urchins on the Florida Keys reef tract and grass flats. Its short, densely packed spines make it safe to handle and far less prone to damaging equipment than long-spined species. It is a relentless daytime and nighttime grazer with a real appetite for hair algae, and it has the endearing habit of decorating itself with shell fragments, rubble, and bits of macroalgae it picks up as camouflage. Locally collected stock is already acclimated to our water.

Care Guide

A hardy, hard-working algae grazer for a mature tank with real algae to eat.

• Lighting: Not light-dependent; any standard reef lighting is fine.
• Flow: Low to moderate.
• Placement: Rockwork and sandbed; it roams constantly and will graze the entire tank.
• Feeding/Nutrients: Heavy grazer on hair algae, film algae, and coralline. Supplement with dried seaweed once algae is under control — a hungry pin cushion will strip a tank clean and then starve.
• Aggression/Reef Safe: Reef safe with caution — peaceful toward fish and corals, but it is strong and will bulldoze unsecured frags and carry off small loose items. Glue frag plugs down.
• Water Parameters: Stable reef parameters required — Temp 76-78°F, pH 8.1-8.4, Salinity 1.024-1.026. Sensitive to rapid parameter swings and copper-based medications. Acclimate slowly by drip.

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