urchin losing Spikes

[Kerny]

I Just got my first urchin yesterday and I saw it today after work and it seems to be losing its spikes. Is this serious and what should I do.
Thanks
Anthony

 

[quarryshark]

Sorry, that is not good news. Best case scenario he is very stressed, worse case he is dying.
How did you acclimate him? They are very sensative to changes is water condition. Also, what are your water parameter? they are very sensative to poor water quality.
Not much you can do for him, keep good water conditions in the system and if you have a hospital tank, you may want to move him there and try to feed him small pieces of meat.
What kind of Urchin is it and what is you water temp? Some are cold water and some are warm water animals.

 

[reefrunner69]

to AquariumAdvice.com!!

Yes, it is highly stressed and possibly dying. What was the SG it came from and what did it go into, could very well be from the difference in salinity.

 

[Kerny]

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 60
Ph 8.4
Salinity 1.021
Temp 82

I forgot the name but it is a small black with an orange eye. I just checked and lowered the ph a little and dropped the temp a couple of deg.

 

[quarryshark]

Hard to tell, many different kinds. You may want to search the web to find out the particular species. You may find some good info that way about your urchin. May want to "slowly" raise the SPG a bit (0.01 a day). They prefer a higher SPG like 1.024-1.025, this may help.

 

[BillyZ]

try looking in our gallery. Maybe you'll spot an urchin like yours. If you do, just post a link to the pic so we can help you identify it.