sea urchin help

J

jammerz

Large Fish
#1
Feb 28, 2005
308
0
0
45
Boise
#1
Hi salties long time....the site looks great.

I've had my sea urchin for 2 years in the last couple days he has dropped alot of spines and whenever i try to right him (mouth down) he scoots back up the glass and props himself with his spines mouth away from the glass so that he gets stuck. He is still moving so i know hes alive but should i just get him out and if so what should i do with him? I pretty sure hes dying and i dont want him doing so in the tank is there anything that can help him? thanks alot guys!!!
wassup camaro and wayne....
 

J

jammerz

Large Fish
#3
Feb 28, 2005
308
0
0
45
Boise
#3
eww thems fightin words pilgrim..... j/k
in case you missed the part that i have had him for 2 years, nothing has changed all water params are good.
thanks though bud
anyone else wanna take a stab at it?
 

A

aresgod

Superstar Fish
#5
Jan 14, 2004
1,987
2
0
mass
Visit site
#5
what kind of urchin is it? The life span varies species to species, some live as long as 30 years, most are in the 5-10 year range....even if the tank has been set up for 2 years, have you tested the parameters? Joe fish is correct that dropped spines are a sign of stress, either from poor waster quality or some other factor.
 

SALTY WATERS

SALTY WATERS

Large Fish
#7
Feb 6, 2005
893
2
0
47
Waterloo, ON Canada
#7
Hey jammerz,

It's been some time!

Below is a segment of an artical on urchin health off of this link: Sea Urchins

Health:
They are both amazingly hardy and surprisingly delicate animals. Like all echinoderms they don’t die of old age, but will succumb to ailments caused by predation, starvation, poor water chemistry and disease. The spines on most Sea Urchins are covered with a layer of skin which means that every time one of the spines break off for any reason, the Urchin is left with an open wound leaving them open to disease and infection. If a sea urchin starts dropping all its spines it’s a sign that the animal is seriously and most probably fatally ill. It is unknown how to successfully treat an ill sea urchin since most available medications are toxic to them.

So old age is most likely not the case. Anything changed or added in the tank lately?
 

You must log in or register to reply here.