Urchin Dying? High Nitrates!

[Yellow17165161]

Hi,

So yesterday I added a tuxedo urchin to my tank because I’ve been having an algae problem. It immediately climbed up my glass and began eating, Ive noticed that overnight it cleared patches of algae from the AIO plastic housing in the back, but I also see some spines in the algae that the urchin has dropped, and I also saw spines in the acclimation bucket this morning when I was cleaning it out.

I just read that high nitrates are bad for urchins, I just tested using an API kit and my nitrates are somewhere between 5-10 I think (it’s very hard to read this kit).

Is it just stress from the move? And any tips on how to quickly lower nitrates? I was thinking of using some nitrate remover product if there are any? I just did a water change 2 days ago, so not sure if I should do another one.

Thanks!

 

[dvgyfresh]

Water change is always safe, you can also add macro algae to absorb some and they also can be eatin by the urchin , nopox is an option but I think water changes would be better I would also add nori occasionally

 

[Waters]

Hi,

So yesterday I added a tuxedo urchin to my tank because I’ve been having an algae problem. It immediately climbed up my glass and began eating, Ive noticed that overnight it cleared patches of algae from the AIO plastic housing in the back, but I also see some spines in the algae that the urchin has dropped, and I also saw spines in the acclimation bucket this morning when I was cleaning it out.

I just read that high nitrates are bad for urchins, I just tested using an API kit and my nitrates are somewhere between 5-10 I think (it’s very hard to read this kit).

Is it just stress from the move? And any tips on how to quickly lower nitrates? I was thinking of using some nitrate remover product if there are any? I just did a water change 2 days ago, so not sure if I should do another one.

Thanks!

Your nitrate levels of 5-10 are fine for urchins. It could be dropping spines from the stress of the move. At this point I would just leave it be and watch it.

 

[New&no clue]

I agree with above 5-10 is perfectly fine for an urchin. Changing your nitrates would cause it more stress. A couple dropped spines are not a worry, if you see him with a bald spot then something is up.

 

[Auquanut]

What @Waters said. I would take the fact that it's eating as a good sign.

 

[SMSREEF]

Agree 5-10 is fine. I dose sodium nitrate to increase mine to 5-10 in the tank, and my 2 tuxedos are doing great.

I bet it was starving. Hopefully now in your tank it will do better.

 

[laverda]

The fact spins were in the acclamation bucket tells me it was not healthy when you got it. Your nitrates are fine if those numbers are correct. I would get a better test kit.

 

[Yellow17165161]

Thank you for the great responses! I will leave it alone and see how he does over the next few days. I’m just hoping my API kit is giving accurate results, I did the test another time and same results. Any other kit you guys would recommend over the API?

Also I was looking into the Red Sea NO3 pO4-X Nitrate Phosphate Reducer. Would this be something I should use in a couple days. Maybe it can also help with the hair algae.

 

[burningmime]

Thank you for the great responses! I will leave it alone and see how he does over the next few days. I’m just hoping my API kit is giving accurate results, I did the test another time and same results. Any other kit you guys would recommend over the API?

Also I was looking into the Red Sea NO3 pO4-X Nitrate Phosphate Reducer. Would this be something I should use in a couple days. Maybe it can also help with the hair algae.

Nyos is supposably the best for Nitrate since it's easy to read and quick. But I've used Red Sea forever and haven't had any issues.

 

[vetteguy53081]

High nitrates will always kill an urchin. Once needles fall off, its likely done. Discard/freeze once death confirmed as they will emit a smell and rot I cant describe

 

[SMSREEF]

High nitrates will always kill an urchin. Once needles fall off, its likely done. Discard/freeze once death confirmed as they will emit a smell and rot I cant describe

The NO3 is 5-10 per OP
You don’t consider that high do you?

@Yellow17165161 I like Salifert No3 test kit. API is hard to read colors. Actually they all are, but at least Salifert you can look from above down and from the side and do a best guess.

 

[vetteguy53081]

The NO3 is 5-10 per OP
You don’t consider that high do you?

@Yellow17165161 I like Salifert No3 test kit. API is hard to read colors. Actually they all are, but at least Salifert you can look from above down and from the side and do a best guess.

.25 is a NORM and 5 would be high for them. Some things that cause this are :
Stress due to environmental changes
acclimation shock
lack of food
high nitrate levels (above 10ppm)

Once they start dropping spines, they are also prone to bacterial infections, from which it is hard to recover.
Like all invertebrates, urchins are very sensitive to changes in water parameters.

 

[SMSREEF]

.25 is a NORM and 5 would be high for them. Some things that cause this are :
Stress due to environmental changes
acclimation shock
lack of food
high nitrate levels (above 10ppm)

Once they start dropping spines, they are also prone to bacterial infections, from which it is hard to recover.
Like all invertebrates, urchins are very sensitive to changes in water parameters.

Ugh I still don’t understand nitrate. I am dosing sodium nitrate to keep mine at 5-10 because of Chrysophyte and Dino’s.

My tuxedos are doing great.
Reefing is so tricky because there is so many people with different parameters with different results.

I don’t have a great ammonia source because not many fish, so nitrate is my nitrogen source (I think...)

 

[dvgyfresh]

.25 is a NORM and 5 would be high for them. Some things that cause this are :
Stress due to environmental changes
acclimation shock
lack of food
high nitrate levels (above 10ppm)

Once they start dropping spines, they are also prone to bacterial infections, from which it is hard to recover.
Like all invertebrates, urchins are very sensitive to changes in water parameters.

I keep a long spine urchin in 10-20ppm nitrates and it is growing rapidily, I need to keep it high to keep dinos at bay /macro algae to grow. It also sheds spines now and again but regrows more but it’s also my first urchin lol so grain of

 

[blaxsun]

My nitrates once spiked to over 100 (yes, 100 - not a typo) in an IM Atoll tank, and it took me several months to bring it back down below 10. During this time my three urchins not only survived - but thrived (no lost spines, nothing). They're still doing fine 6 months later in their new Fusion Lagoon. I share this not as a recommendation, but just an observation that high nitrates will not always immediately start killing things (you should always take corrective action, though).

 

[vetteguy53081]

I keep a long spine urchin in 10-20ppm nitrates and it is growing rapidily, I need to keep it high to keep dinos at bay /macro algae to grow. It also sheds spines now and again but regrows more but it’s also my first urchin lol so grain of

Phos and nitrates contribute to cyano. SPS mainly would not tolerate this long term. Mine is at .456 and corals exploding in growth in tank

 

[Lizbeli]

5ppm nitrate is fine. Absolutely not high enough to kill an urchin.

 

[Garets92553]

My Halloween urchin is doing great the last year in my tank with at one point phosphate at 1.50 and nitrate at 80. Working on nitrates with nopox.

 

[Thales]

Where are people getting that higher nitrates kill urchins (or anything really)? Sounds like a new old reefers tale, so I would love to know where it is coming from.

My nitrates are often between 30 and 50, sometimes 75. Not only do I have thriving Mespilia sp., but I have a bunch that arrived between 2 and 5 mm in April that are all growing up just fine.

Urchins can be very sensitive to acclimation and shipping issues, but not always. I think this is likely the issue the OP is seeing and I wouldn't change a thing for a week or so and watch.

 

[blaxsun]

Urchins can be very sensitive to acclimation and shipping issues, but not always. I think this is likely the issue the OP is seeing and I wouldn't change a thing for a week or so and watch.

My arguably limited experience with urchins has been hit and miss. My Green, Tuxedo and Radiant have all thrived; my purple died within days (but all the ones at the LFS died within days as well) and both multicolors bought it within a few months.

I think you either get a stellar urchin from the outset or you get one that's on life's razors edge.