Green Variegated Urchin

Lytechinus variegatus, the Green Variegated Urchin or Variable Sea Urchin, is a widespread and adaptable Caribbean urchin recognizable by its greenish test (body) and short white to mottled spines. Like many sea urchins, it exhibits the entertaining behavior of decorating itself with shell fragments, small pebbles, and algae pieces using its tube feet — a behavior thought to provide both camouflage and ballast in surge environments. In the aquarium it is a dedicated algae grazer, systematically working over rocks and glass to consume film algae, coralline algae, and soft turf algae. It is suitable for larger reef and FOWLR aquariums where its grazing helps control algae growth. Avoid housing with triggerfish, large puffers, or other urchin predators.

Provide at least 150 liters with abundant rockwork for foraging. Supplement diet with dried seaweed and algae wafers if natural growth is insufficient. Ensure adequate calcium in the water for spine regeneration if spines are lost. Handle gently — urchin spines are fragile and the animal is sensitive to sudden salinity changes. Avoid copper-based medications. Do not house with triggerfish, large puffers, or wrasses that prey on urchins.