What is my urchin doing?

[Rmckoy]

We need to see proof, you may be right or wrong.

I have been wrong before .

 

[vetteguy53081]

Urchins do not mate. It takes two though to reproduce. The females release their eggs and the males release their sperm into the water column, at the same time and create suspended fertilization. The male if alone will release sperm which is of no use, and likewise if alone the female will release eggs which will not be fertile.

 

[anthonygf]

I have been wrong before .

I think we all have.

 

[Rmckoy]

Thats true, i know quite a bit about certain animals but i am definitely not an expert

I’m no expert and have been proven to be wrong many times
I remember reading or seeing something regarding this .
I remember my urchin years ago used to frequently spew white cloudy stuff into the water. .

I posted asking about it but can’t remember the outcome of that thread .
Could be my old forgetful mind thinking of something completely different as well
@vetteguy53081
Are urchins male and female ?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Please correct me if I’m wrong .
I always thought each individual urchin was capable of reproducing my itself . And can be neither male nor female

Urchins are gonochoristic (meaning there are male urchins and female urchins - no hermaphrodites) and they don't reproduce asexually, so they can't reproduce by themselves.

OP, I would guess your urchin is female, but I don't know for sure.

"The sexes are separate in sea urchins and reproduction is accomplished by shedding eggs (which can number up to 2,000,000 for one female) and sperm in the water"
Source:

The Green Sea Urchin in Maine, Fishery and Biology - a general summary by Stanley Chenoweth, DMR | Department of Marine Resources

This information was written in 1994

www.maine.gov

A video by Monterey Bay Aquarium with a male and female urchin spawning (as a note here, the color of the eggs and sperm can vary somewhat, particularly from one species to another - the female in the video is the one with the orangish stuff on it, the male is the one with the whitish stuff on it):

Edit: just to add, it's difficult to find good female urchin spawning videos, but they seem to take longer to disperse the eggs; for the male urchins, they tend to start by releasing just a little bit, then a few seconds later they release a big puff/cloud into the water and they're done.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I’m no expert and have been proven to be wrong many times
I remember reading or seeing something regarding this .
I remember my urchin years ago used to frequently spew white cloudy stuff into the water. .

I posted asking about it but can’t remember the outcome of that thread .
Could be my old forgetful mind thinking of something completely different as well
@vetteguy53081
Are urchins male and female ?

Yes. See comment above

 

[Rmckoy]

Yes. See comment above

I was typing my comment the same time as yours

 

[katsreef]

Urchins do not mate. It takes two though to reproduce. The females release their eggs and the males release their sperm into the water column, at the same time and create suspended fertilization. The male if alone will release sperm which is of no use, and likewise if alone the female will release eggs which will not be fertile.

would you say mine is a male or female from the video?

 

[vetteguy53081]

would you say mine is a male or female from the video?

Female - Those are eggs (now caviar)
Males substance would be milky

 

[anthonygf]

Female - Those are eggs (now caviar)
Males substance would be milky

That is why the Clown was eating them up, free fish food.