New urchin possibly dying

Rapter_hunter12 · Oct 23, 2021

So I just bought my first sea urchin a white pincushion. Have literally 0 nitrates in the tank. Drip acclimated him for 40 minutes. When I put him in the tank he didn't want to move but his white tendrils were moving. Slowly over the day he's been losing more spines so I moved him and put him on top of some algae. Still no movement. Today I come out and he has a white film on him and some parts have turned brown on his white body. He still has a beak but I don't know what's going on so if anyone can help I would appreciate it

blaxsun · Oct 23, 2021

Probably toast from the sounds of it.

MaxTremors · Oct 23, 2021

Rapter_hunter12 said:
So I just bought my first sea urchin a white pincushion. Have literally 0 nitrates in the tank. Drip acclimated him for 40 minutes. When I put him in the tank he didn't want to move but his white tendrils were moving. Slowly over the day he's been losing more spines so I moved him and put him on top of some algae. Still no movement. Today I come out and he has a white film on him and some parts have turned brown on his white body. He still has a beak but I don't know what's going on so if anyone can help I would appreciate it

What are your other parameters? Has copper (or any other medications) ever been used in the tank.

SDK · Oct 23, 2021

Urchins are usually either alive and well, or dead, with little in between. I have never had a newly added one lose spines and not die. Usually within a few hours.

They are one of the few cleanup crew items that I like to get online at a lower “per urchin” price and buy more than I need. It’s common, for me at least, to have a few arrive in the condition you are describing. The good news is that the ones that make it are usually long lived and easy in a proper tank environment.