black spike urchin turning white on me

[fish geek]

my black spike sea urchin's spines are changing. portions of some of the spines are turning white.i have had this urchin for maybe a month now and since then he has grown alot. is this normal or is something wrong please help


thx nick

p.s. started noticing change 3 days ago and water tests r great

 

[steve-s]

p.s. started noticing change 3 days ago and water tests r great

Could you post the test results? As well as anything new/changed/added within the last week.

Do you know the proper species of urchin? Might be a morph. Depending on what's in your tank, it might also be an indication it's not getting the proper nutrition. Any loss of quills?

Cheers
Steve

 

[fish geek]

actually i did a water change about a week ago for the first time. my water tests r ammonia 0 nitrate 0 ph 8.4 salinity 1.023 calcium 440 and no it hasn't lost any quills. i really don't know the specific name of the urchin. i added a long nose hawkfish 3days ago but i don't think that has anything to do with it.

 

[quarryshark]

Does it look like this?
If so, you might want to target feed it. I give mine a small piece of nori 2 times a week. It may not be getting enough. This may help.

 

[steve-s]

I give mine a small piece of nori 2 times a week. It may not be getting enough.

Cheers
Steve

 

[fish geek]

what is nori?

 

[quarryshark]

Nori is seaweed used to wrap sushi in. Any Oriental food store and some grocery stores should have it. Even you local lfs may stock it.

 

[fish geek]

how do u feed it nori?

 

[quarryshark]

I just get a small piece wet and fold it over. I give is to him with my tongs or by hand if he's close. He just grabs it and pulls it to his mouth. Watch for a couple minutes to make sure he doesn't lose it.