Urchin Help

[BrooklynsReefMan1]

I have a fairly large urchin and his treck around the tank isnt easy for him i have alot of live rock. its a 20 gallon long and i have 34 pounds i went with the 1 1/2 pounds per gallon rule but i feel it isnt good for him if when he is eating the algea of the algea of the live rock that his spines are sticking out

Am i freaking out for no reason?

 

[PhoenixOne]

i feel it isnt good for him if when he is eating the algea of the algea of the live rock that his spines are sticking out

Am i freaking out for no reason?

I'm sorry, but I'm having trouble understanding the last line.

 

[BrooklynsReefMan1]

I'm sorry, but I'm having trouble understanding the last line.

like am i worrying about his spines out the water for no reason or can this become a problem

 

[PhoenixOne]

Oh. I see. I don't think there should be no problem with his spines sticking out of the water.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

No problem, he'll be fine. When the tide goes out they are sometimes exposed to the air entirely.

 

[BrooklynsReefMan1]

Okay im cool then you can close the thread cheaf

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Nope discussion threads aren't closed they are left open for future discussion

 

[midtownman]

good that it is open i just wanna know if the spines start falling off is it because of stress?

 

[BrooklynsReefMan1]

Ive seen mine fall off because of a rock but i never heard of stress... anyone else second that?

 

[tosiek]

You should not be seeing any type of spine loss on the urchins, or very very little. Also make sure you understand that they require ALOT of algae and corraline to thrive in the tank. You will end up starving it in a smaller tank and thats one of the reasons some people might be seeing alot of spine loss. Most aquarium marine tanks have a very small percent of the actual algae present and growing that you would find in their normal habitat.

Old article on urchin spine growth information

Forum thread on spine loss

If your not growing corraline in your tank at a good rate you shouldn't consider getting one or find the one you already have a good home. All depends on the type of urchin of course but for the majority of the ones in the stores their basic diet turns into corraline in the majority of tanks and them browsing on the rock for whatever algae is present, which isn't much. There is no way a 20g will produce enough food for an urchin larger than 1" or even 1/2"-3/4".

Depending on the type i have also heard people feeding them meaty foods.

 

[tosiek]

Ive seen mine fall off because of a rock but i never heard of stress... anyone else second that?

They won't push themselves into a rock so hard they will break spines, so unless rocks are falling on them they shouldn't be losing spines. Lack of food, unstable water parameters will cause stress on the urchin and cause it to lose spines.

 

[h20 freak]

Just wondering, what kind of urchin is it?Longspine?

 

[BrooklynsReefMan1]

Long spine urchin and to Tos i shouldnt have worded it like that i should have said the tips ive seen crack when he reaches he corner wherre my rock work wont let him fit

 

[jejton]

As an aside, a researcher won a major prize within the last few years ( it might have been the Nobel in Chemistry but my memory eludes me ATM ) for elucidating how sea urchins develop their spines. It wasn't so much that people cared about the urchins but it had to do with crystal chemistry.

 

[johnmaloney]

You can feed most urchins caulerpa or ulva to supplement their diet. Chief was right, it isn't too much of a problem if there spines stick out of the water. This is true for variegated and rock boring urchins that live above the low tide line. However, long spine urchins live in deeper water, and probably are not use to having their spines stick out. It still won't kill them though.