Cowrie snail eating sea urchin

[Idaho Mojo]

So I've had a pincushion/collector urchin slowly losing spines and dying (from what I'm guessing was a near crash months ago).
I had recently bought a large cowrie snail to help with algae and other clean up.
Today I caught my cowrie snail under the sea urchin, mouth to mouth. I'm guessing the cowrie is sucking out the insides of the urchin? It found a section or the urchin with no spines to grab onto.

The cowrie has its mantle fully extended, so I know it's not the urchin attacking the cowrie.

Pretty cool stuff![emoji16]

 

[James M]

Poor urchin

 

[cristata.reef]

Chestnut cowries are native to the eastern pacific (West coast of the US and Baja). IMO they're not ideal for reefs as they need slightly cooler waters. I kept them in my coldwater system and I can say for certain that they will eat just about anything. While they mainly eat algae, I've had them eat meaty foods and wouldn't be surprised that it took interest in the urchin. Perhaps it didn't attack it, the urchin may be declining in health and the cowrie just saw an easy meal. Just my two cents