Help if it's dead or alive

[Tired]

The sea urchins that are reliably available for sale eat algae. They should be kept in tanks with lots of algae available to eat. If you don't have that, nori seaweed (which can be bought at many grocery stores or online- try to get one specifically for aquarium use, and make sure there's nothing else in it) may work as food. You put the nori in a clip or pin it with a rock to hold it, then set the urchin on it until the urchin learns the food is there.

 

[vetteguy53081]

While nitrate s can adversely affect an urchin , there are more critical things that will:

- Osmotic Shock, typically from a rapid decrease in salinity. This can be something as simple as adding a weeks worth of top off at once.
- Starvation - they are fairly easy to feed. Try an algae sheet as others suggested
- Low Salinity. Depending on the species they do not tolerate low salinity well and a false reading can cause this. Calibrate your tester and test again.

What test kits are you using ?

Temp 77-79
salinity 1.025
ph 8.1 - 8.3
alk 8-9
ca 440
nitrate < .04
ammonia < .03
Phos < .04

 

[Cdime712]

I have personally never seen the tube feet up close, would love to see him in action.

What’s the update? He moving around?

Just a little nothing big.

 

[Cdime712]

I have personally never seen the tube feet up close, would love to see him in action.

What’s the update? He moving around?

Moving little bit not much

 

[Cdime712]

While nitrate s can adversely affect an urchin , there are more critical things that will:

- Osmotic Shock, typically from a rapid decrease in salinity. This can be something as simple as adding a weeks worth of top off at once.
- Starvation - they are fairly easy to feed. Try an algae sheet as others suggested
- Low Salinity. Depending on the species they do not tolerate low salinity well and a false reading can cause this. Calibrate your tester and test again.

What test kits are you using ?

Temp 77-79
salinity 1.025
ph 8.1 - 8.3
alk 8-9
ca 440
nitrate < .04
ammonia < .03
Phos < .04

Alk at 11.

 

[Uncle99]

“Water parameters are good”
You may want to recheck those and post them.

 

[CanuckReefer]

I know I'm supposed to know this by now but what do they eat?

Several kinds of algae, detritus as well...I have 3 (two pincushions and a pencil) in my 90 for over 3 years the latest one, they imo are my best CUC along with a sea cucumber.... the pincushions will scrape my coraline as well, but it does come back quite quickly. The Pencil was being a bit of a brat lately and started on my Kenya Trees (which some here may say is a bonus lol), keeping an eye on him, as this may be an indication he needs more algae, so have supplemented more nori that if my fish don't eat they will....

 

[Vette67]

This is what a dead urchin skeleton looks like. Yours appears to be still alive

 

[Cdime712]

This is what a dead urchin skeleton looks like. Yours appears to be still alive

Thank you! Got it

 

[Jilly92]

I posted pictures below someone can help under more if its dead or
Dead. My urchin looked better than yours, but had that same mouth. He didn't move for 2 days. All my livestock in one of my tanks died last week so the look is still fresh in my mind