Urchin EMERGENCY!

TheShrimpNibbler · Jan 15, 2020

So, my urchin fell off the wall today. He landed on his back and couldn’t flip back over. While he was on his back, almost all of his spines fell off. Will he make it? Is there anything I can do to increase his chances of survival? I’ve had him for almost a year now, and I would hate to lose him. I don’t have nutrient problems, and I don’t think there’s any ammonia. Never had problems with that. Calcium and alk are low. pH is at 8.1 and specific gravity is at 1.023 (I’m trying to raise it). I have plenty of algae on the walls, but I’m gonna feed him just in case. The only thing that I can think of causing this is that I recently added two wave makers, and the only flow I had prior to that was an HOB filter. He hasn’t seemed to like the new flow as much and has been spending more time at the top of the tank since I added them. Could this be the problem. Here he is

moz71 · Jan 15, 2020

Sorry he doesn’t look good. The fall did not do it he probably fell because he is not feeling well. I do not think it is glow. Mine is I. Tank and getting blasted all the time. Besides the film algae do you have any other in tank. Losing spines is first sign of health I had one starting to lose spines and put him I. Sump with lots of macro and recovered.

TheShrimpNibbler · Jan 15, 2020

moz71 said:
Sorry he doesn’t look good. The fall did not do it he probably fell because he is not feeling well. I do not think it is glow. Mine is I. Tank and getting blasted all the time. Besides the film algae do you have any other in tank. Losing spines is first sign of health I had one starting to lose spines and put him I. Sump with lots of macro and recovered.

Thank you! I have some Chaeto that he eats on a lot, plenty of film algae, and some coralline. I see teeth marks on the algae, so I know he’s eating, I’m just not sure if it’s enough.

TheShrimpNibbler · Jan 15, 2020

I should probably add that he looked pretty much fine last night when I went to bed. His spines were a little droopy, but not really. They have been really droopy before, and they weren’t anything close to that last night.

Katrina71 · Jan 15, 2020

I hope he pulls through.

moz71 · Jan 15, 2020

TheShrimpNibbler said:
I should probably add that he looked pretty much fine last night when I went to bed. His spines were a little droopy, but not really. They have been really droopy before, and they weren’t anything close to that last night.

What happens is the spines get week and brittle. When I went to go pick mine up. A bunch fell out all at once. Just like you I thought this happened so fast. If you can get some algae sheets to him may help

TheShrimpNibbler · Jan 15, 2020

moz71 said:
What happens is the spines get week and brittle. When I went to go pick mine up. A bunch fell out all at once. Just like you I thought this happened so fast. If you can get some algae sheets to him may help

I’m gonna feed him one tonight after a water change. Thanks again for all the help.

SashimiTurtle · Jan 15, 2020

Yep, I'd attach an algae sheet to a rock and put it where he can find it easily. Keep doing that every time the algae is gone. That should get him feeling better.

The salinity, you can put salt water in your ATO to bring that up slow. That will also help bring up calcium and alkalinity, as they are tied to salinity...

Goodair · Jan 16, 2020

If you got high alk/calc, he will prob regrow his spines. This is if reason that caused them to fall off isn't persistent. Do you know if it goes for meaty foods, or just algae?

TheShrimpNibbler · Jan 16, 2020

Goodair said:
If you got high alk/calc, he will prob regrow his spines. This is if reason that caused them to fall off isn't persistent. Do you know if it goes for meaty foods, or just algae?

I’ve never seen him go for anything meaty, but I don’t know if he does and I just don’t notice. He’s a pincushion, so I’m pretty sure he’s herbivorous. I do have a problem with low alk and calcium. How should I raise it? Thank you!

Goodair · Jan 16, 2020

Depends on the salt you use. My longspine urchin lost his spines during the summer, but he kept moving and eating so I kept an eye on it. I believe it was the heat since my fans weren't enough until I got better ones, so that's just an assumption to the cause. Still unsure to why. Another urchin I had didn't make it. It looked like yours and would always try to flip my snails to eat them, he wouldnt really go for algae for some reason.
Once I started to add corals around fall, I started to use salt with higher minerals and noticed the urchin started to grow them back.
This is what he looks like now compared to it looking like a button with nothing. It's been slow but happy he is pulling through! The pattern on the spikes is pretty interesting aswell.

mattzang · Jan 16, 2020

i've accidentally knocked mine off the glass several times and they were good to go. and my flow is pretty high since i mostly have sps, so i'd investigate parameters. what's your nitrate and phosphate?

TheShrimpNibbler · Jan 17, 2020

mattzang said:
i've accidentally knocked mine off the glass several times and they were good to go. and my flow is pretty high since i mostly have sps, so i'd investigate parameters. what's your nitrate and phosphate?

Last time I checked, both were at zero. I’ll test some more tonight and post the results.

S2G · Jan 17, 2020

If almost all spines are gone then its probably a goner. Try amsome nori under it. If it eats you might have a chance

TheShrimpNibbler · Jan 17, 2020

S2G said:
If almost all spines are gone then its probably a goner. Try amsome nori under it. If it eats you might have a chance

He’s looking better and is growing some new spines now. He didn’t eat the nori I tried to give him the other night, but he’s eating film algae now.

S2G · Jan 17, 2020

TheShrimpNibbler said:
He’s looking better and is growing some new spines now. He didn’t eat the nori I tried to give him the other night, but he’s eating film algae now.

That's great news!

Katrina71 · Jan 17, 2020

Good to read.

Magellan · Jan 17, 2020

TheShrimpNibbler said:
He’s looking better and is growing some new spines now. He didn’t eat the nori I tried to give him the other night, but he’s eating film algae now.

Good stuff!! Go urchin go!

#1Fellowreefer · Jan 17, 2020

TheShrimpNibbler said:
He’s looking better and is growing some new spines now. He didn’t eat the nori I tried to give him the other night, but he’s eating film algae now.

Can you post some pictures of it now to see how it’s doing now.

amazongb · Jan 17, 2020

I feed a little nori sheet by hand.. just slide it under him and see if he takes it..if so, that's a good sign. Maybe put a little acclimation box in your tank to protect him for a while..