Tuxedo urchin looking scaly

Oberst Hajj · Aug 31, 2017

When we first got this blue tuxedo urching it looked very "velvety" like in this photo:

Today the wife pointed out that it looks kind of scaly or flaky as in these photos:

Any thoughts on what could be going on with him?

Claus84 · Aug 31, 2017

Do you have enough algae for it to eat or are you supplementary feeding it? I don't know whats wrong but lack of food would be the first thing to rule out

Claus84 · Aug 31, 2017

It also doesnt seem to be carrying much at the moment which isn't a great sign. how long have you had it?

Oberst Hajj · Aug 31, 2017

It has been in the tank for 2 months. I'm coming out of an algae bloom, so he should have had enough food... but maybe this past week it has been too little. I do have some dried seaweed, but how do I get it to him?

Claus84 · Sep 1, 2017

I rubberband nori to a rock and try to place it near the urchin its direction of travel, you can also hand feed them as they will take it off you if you hold it near to them but this can be a bit tedious! I should have mentioned water quality before feeding, what are your params?
They like stable conditions so if you have made any changes to your water change regime or dosing etc it might have an impact.

Oberst Hajj · Sep 1, 2017

Claus84 said:
I rubberband nori to a rock and try to place it near the urchin its direction of travel, you can also hand feed them as they will take it off you if you hold it near to them but this can be a bit tedious! I should have mentioned water quality before feeding, what are your params?
They like stable conditions so if you have made any changes to your water change regime or dosing etc it might have an impact.

I'll try the feeding since I already have the nori... can't hurt the urchin right? As for water parameters, those are normally all good, but my Nitrates were a little higher than normal for two weeks. I had dosed Fluconazole to kill off some Bryopsis and that requires no water changes for 14 days. I've since done a water change and will be back on my 12% per week schedule. I'll keep and eye on the blue guy and see how he responds. I'll also have to watch for him pooping... ever actually noticed him doing that!

Claus84 · Sep 2, 2017

I have read a couple of reports of urchins dropping spines after flucanozole dosing but seems like its very rare, I have some myself for bryopsis but haven't dared pull the trigger yet! did ot get rid of the bryopsis?
Definitely couldn't hurt feeding it and would help it recover, one of mine lost a section of spines for some unknown reason, gave it plenty of nori and it healed up fine, they are probably my favourite critters

Oberst Hajj · Sep 2, 2017

@Claus84 , the flucanozole worked great. I put it in on a Friday evening and then we left for 4 days to go watch the eclipse. When we can back there was just one little stub of bryopsis left and that was gone in another couple of days. I also think it was a big help in ending my algae bloom (I did add a larger CUC and had been running blue only lights for about a week). I saw no effect on my 3 clownfish or crabs/snails.

Oberst Hajj · Sep 2, 2017

Oh, and the BTU is definitely eating good the last couple of days. He found the only live rock I have with coralline on it and is stripping it pretty good

I did get it to grab a piece of nori and it appears to have pulled it down under it a little ways. I can't see if he is munching on it or not though because he is facing away from the glass.