What on earth is my urchin doing?! Releasing white stuff

[Callen]

It is releasing a white liquid like substance that floats up like wisps of smoke. Will it harm my tank?

 

[hackerbee]

That's sperm and you might see eggs too. I don't have personal experience but I've heard it will rot and overload your biofilter without major water changes. Can you move the urchin to an isolation tank until it quits trying to reproduce?

 

[Mebbid]

I doubt it will "overload" your bio filter but it will probably have a small impact that will likely be negated with a skimmer.

 

[Callen]

I was planning on a water change tomorrow so maybe that will help. Will he keep doing it for an extended period of time?

 

[hackerbee]

I'm not sure how long it will last or what factors might influence that. I'd be interested if you can let us know when it stops!

 

[mr_X]

It's not going to harm anything more than throwing some food in the tank.

 

[Callen]

It's quite fascinating. You could see it oozing from his pores then wisping away like smoke. Haven't seem it anymore today. I wonder what the frequency is or if anything specific will trigger it.